Nevermore
by pokeman1280
Summary: The Nevermore is more than just a type of Grimm, but Remnant doesn't know it yet. It's up to Raven Branwen and Summer Rose to fight the unknown. (AU, Prequel to A Rose's Scales and Reversal)
1. STRQ Difference

**Hello and welcome to Nevermore (name subject to change), a prequel story to A Rose's Scales and Reversal. Two crossovers, I know, but since this is only dealing with the Remnant side of things, it's here and not in the crossover section.**

 **I don't think you'll need to read either A Rose's Scales or Reversal to get what's going on here, but there will be spoilers for stuff that Ruby and the gang don't find out until way later. To those who have, I've rewritten Raven's backstory a few times since it was first uploaded. The first was...absolute crap, and didn't get the feeling I wanted across. It should be a lot better now. If something doesn't make sense here, it's probably been rectified there. And yes, I do know that's not how prequels typically work...  
**

 **This will also be much shorter than the other two, less than half the length in chapters and way less in wordage. I know this because I've already gotten the whole darn thing written (insert disbelieving laugh here). 14 chapters, just enough to get through my finals week (baring 100 favorite milestones). Now that's a backlog.**

 **Something that should be said, this is AU. Some things were solidified in the above stories before Volume 3 ended and before we knew Volume 4's release date. Some things will work with the main series, some won't. Some of these you'll catch this chapter, some later on.**

 **Enough intro, onto this.**

* * *

It looked like her tip was good. Two men carried a young Faunus boy into the dilapidated warehouse. The boy fought all the way, but he was out muscled. From what Raven could see, the boy was missing his left antler. Raven grimaced. She knew the tactic. Other tribes used to do the same to their prisoners, human or Faunus. It showed ownership, or to keep them complacent. Raven couldn't help but wonder if the heads crawled out of one of them or if they were psychopaths from one of the Kingdoms.

The door closed behind the two and the van drove away. Raven couldn't see any more Nevermores around. She backed away from the wall she hid behind until she hit the one on the far side of the roof. It wasn't the largest gap between buildings, but the bullet wound in her right leg was acting up again. It had been two weeks, but it still hadn't fully healed. Her portals were too loud, and her injury didn't make turning into a bird easy.

Raven pulled her mask off her side and fit it over her face. It was better for the Nevermores to think that a rogue bandit was after them and not a Huntsman from Vale. She took a deep breath, and ran forward. She planted a foot on top of the wall at the edge of the roof and pushed off. Raven kept her limbs steady in the air. She tucked them in and rolled across the roof. Her right knee screamed, but Raven ignored it. She didn't have time to humor the pain.

She sprung to her feet and gripped her sword. Nothing moved on the roof. Raven walked to the roof access door and tried to open it. Unlike many in this part of Vacuo City, this one was locked. Nothing a quick pick couldn't fix. She brought out her tools and set to work. As expected, the lock didn't provide much resistance.

Raven pulled the door open and walked inside. In the tight space of the stairwell, her sword wouldn't do any good. But she'd trained with Tai for years, one of the best fist fighters Remnant's ever known. If only he'd actually use them instead of sitting on his ass at Signal…Raven shook her head. Now wasn't the time.

Several voices came from the other side of a door in front of her. Raven slowed down and was even more careful with where she placed her feet. She pressed an ear up against the door. "…squirming, will ya?" one voice said. "You'll only make it harder on yourself."

"Or keep squirming," another said. "It'll make it more fun for us."

"Now which one of these has been sold?"

"Let me check." Papers flipping and other assorted mumbling filtered through the door. "Looks like number three. Picking her up in a half hour. Better make her presentable."

Raven heard muffled screaming on the other side. She gripped her sword's hilt, but refrained from breaking down the door. In another half hour, she'd catch another of the creeps, and the reward would go up that much more. There were definitely some perks to Vacuo's justice system.

The screaming faded to nothing and another door closed. Raven took the time to inspect her area. There was another hallway to her right, but that looked like it just emptied into the rest of the building. It looked like she was in an area specifically for roof access. If the Nevermores didn't have guards on the roof when they were bringing someone in, why should they now? They still hadn't gotten the memo. Raven Branwen was coming after them.

She picked the lock on the door in front of her and pushed it open. Like the last two places she raided, the smell hit her like a train. All the Faunus held in these rooms had to relieve themselves where they sat. The second time in, she thought she smelled rotting flesh from an infection, but she couldn't figure that out in the dark…Summer would never make it through these raids. She'd leave her own puddle on the floor and comfort every one of these kids...Actually, maybe it would be a good idea to ask sometime. A friendly face to cover up everything else.

This time, it looked like there were five kids in chains, some of them didn't look awake. Still, three heads turned in Raven's direction. She held a finger up to where her lips rested under her mask. The Faunus kids should be able to see in the dark.

Raven crouched over to the first kid and grabbed the cloth gag. "Don't speak," she whispered. "You're all getting out of here tonight." The kid nodded and Raven untied the gag. The boy took a deep breath, but otherwise didn't make a sound. Raven then picked the lock on his chains. She proceeded to do the same with everyone else who was awake. The other two she simply removed the gags and unlocked their chains.

With all the kids freed, Raven walked to the only other door in the room. She picked that one as well. It had to be getting close to time for the buyer to arrive. Hopefully all the dealing went down inside. Easier than having to mop up outside.

The hall she entered was well lit. This must be where the buyer was coming, or already came. You never knew with these people. Raven heard laughter deeper into the building and she stalked toward it. She turned down another hallway and light spilled into the hall from another room. It sounded like that was where the laughter was coming from.

This was it. Raven took out her Scroll and pressed the button to notify her contact in Vacuo's only police department. They'd been waiting and soon the building would be surrounded. Raven stood up and walked the rest of the way to the meeting room.

She stopped inside the door. A half dozen men sat at a table, with a bird Faunus girl gaged and in zip ties sitting at the base of a wall. The men looked like they were having a good time at the table, with a deck of cards splayed across it and a case full of Lien open at the far end. Time to change that. "I don't want to be lectured by my team leader," all heads turned to Raven and a few hands reached for sidearms, "so I'll give you all a chance to surrender."

One of the thugs burst from his chair and grabbed the girl in a chokehold. He held his pistol against the girl's head. "Leave now, or this one loses its head."

Raven shrugged. "Okay." She turned around and walked back the way she came. Now that she knew where everything was in the room, she could ambush them properly. She drew her sword and sliced it in front of her, forming one of her imfamous red and black portals. She jumped through and shoulder charged the man with the gun. The thug lost his grip on the gun and Raven snatched it out of the air.

Since her sword was useless in the tight space, Raven shot the other five men in the chest. Only one of them had an active Aura. Raven shot that man four more times until the magazine was empty. He still didn't fall, but his Aura was about to fail. Raven threw the gun at him which hit him square in the face. He stumbled back into the only open section of the room. Raven jumped off the one she tackled and ran the man through. She pulled her sword out of the dying man and sheathed it. The mechanisms inside would clean and repair the blade. She turned to the one man still on the floor. The girl had scurried to a clean part of the room and took the gag out of her mouth.

Raven approached the one thug who was still alive. She grabbed his hair and pulled it up. "Listen, I don't have time. You're going to tell me what I want to know, or you're going to tell the not-so-friendly part of Vacuo's police. What's it going to be?"

The man grunted. "Depends on what you want to know."

"Where are the other warehouses? Where is your base? Where are your records?"

"You think I stupid? I'll take whatever you and those crooked cops will do to me. I'm not giving up those places."

Raven slammed the man's face into the concrete floor and pulled it back up. "Records. Locations. Now."

"Go to hell."

"Where do you think I'm from?" Raven slammed the man's face into the floor again, but this time kept it there and she put her weight on it. "Records. Locations. Now."

"Records…in my office…under the desk."

"Good boy." Raven pulled the man's head up again. But that's all she ever got before. Never locations. "Now where are the other warehouses."

"Kiss. My. Ass."

Raven heard several steps of footsteps in the hall behind her. "I don't think so. I'm married." She slammed the man's face once more, this time knocking him out.

On cue, several police officers stormed the room, including her contact. Three rifles immediately pointed at her. "Hold up! She's with us," her contact said. Raven noticed that he didn't say 'friendly.' The rifles dropped and the officers inspected the carnage. "You don't do anything in halves, do you Bandit?"

"Not when it comes to this." Raven stood up and faced her contact. "If there's any reward for anyone in here, you know where to wire it. Now you're going to follow me and take the records from this place."

"Expect part of the reward from that too?"

"As long as my cut's not under twenty percent. I'm not _that_ greedy. Give credit where credit is due." She passed the officers and looked for a room that looked like an office. She found one and kicked the desk over, much to the annoyance of her contact. Sure enough, there was a safe underneath. At least this one was buried under something and not in the wall for all to see. Raven drew her sword and jammed the point into the side of the safe. She pushed her blade at an angle and the lid popped right off. "There you go, the records of all the scum these bastards have dealt with."

Her contact reached into the safe and pulled out the few folders. "I may not agree with your methods, but they get results."

"If only my team could see that. The kids are yours. Get them to their families." Raven left her contact and the building. She faced deeper into the alleyway outside and swung her sword in front of her. With the cost of travel between Kingdoms, and the increased attacks on airships, it was easier to travel by her portals. It gave her time to think.

Like how Summer was not going to be happy with her at all when she got back to Vale. She'd rather deal with a thousand angry Taiyangs and Qrows than with a single disappointed Summer. Raven sighed. Hopefully Summer would see that Raven's actions weren't completely hostile, that she really wasn't a bandit anymore. If not, well…she wasn't going to have a good time.

* * *

"Okay, let's see here." Summer held her tongue in her lips as she looked between her list and the shopping cart in front of her. "Bread, peanut butter, flour…they're out of cheese, but then again, that sale." She wrote that down on another list. Hy-Dee was usually good at restocking the shelves. Hopefully this was a one-time thing. Summer checked her cart once more and nodded. She hadn't gotten much that wasn't on her list, and most of that stuff was for the others…except for her Sunburst Jellybeans. Those were more addicting than anything else.

Summer made her way to the checkout lanes. For a Sunday, the place was dead. She only had to wait behind a couple of people until she got to the cashier. As always, she had a conversation with the cashier, and as always, she thought she helped brighten the young man's day. A nice person coming through your line was always welcome. She learned that first hand when she worked part time as a cashier while she was going to Sanctum.

Instead of having the cashier bag the food, Summer did it herself. It wasn't that she didn't like the help, but she couldn't carry more than four bags at a time. With what Tai taught her, she thought she could fit everything into two. It was always entertaining to see people's jaws drop when more things than they thought were possible fit into one bag, especially the new workers. Tai didn't give up his secret easily. It took a lot of bribing and puppy dog faces, more than ever before.

She left the Hy-Dee and walked toward the beach. It really was a nice day in Vale. A light, wind, partly cloudy, and a zero percent chance of both rain and Grimm attacks. After the disaster in mountain Glen, that didn't happen very often.

About halfway to the beach, Summer noticed a windowless white van on the road behind her. Her walk stiffened. Did they really find her? Whoever 'they' was found Scarlet. They could have found her too. The van approached and Summer was ready to drop her bags and draw Sun's Light. But no. The wan had a logo for Morgan Contractors on the side. Summer sighed and shook her head. Who'd have thought she'd be the paranoid one?

Summer made it to one of Vale's beaches and she looked out toward Patch. She'd never been able to teleport that far before, but here was a first time for everything. She stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth and concentrated her Aura. Her eyes flicked to the air right above Patch's coastline and she activated her Semblance.

In an instant, she was staring directly at the trees she could see from the mainland. She looked down and bent her knees on impact with the sand. Summer bounced up and faced back the way she came. The city of Vale sat several miles away over open water. White rose petals rained down around her.

Summer transferred the bag in her right hand to her left. "Summer Rose, you've just set a new record." She pumped her now free fist as hard as she could. Something shifted in one of the bags and Summer's heart stopped. One thing out of place in these overstuffed bags and there would be food and fabric everywhere. She waited for the inevitable food-splosion, but it never came. Summer sighed. "Okay, don't overdo it when you're carrying these bags."

Sufficiently self-chagrined, Summer turned toward the west side of the island and started her hike. That one teleport took a lot out of her, and she didn't feel like arriving back at 'home base' all sweaty and out of breath. Anyway, the ocean breeze was nice. She didn't need to be with someone else to enjoy long walks on the beaches.

After a while, Summer turned inland and followed the recently paved road. It was _so_ much better than the dirt road before. Bumblebee did _not_ like the uneven surface. Tai could think whatever he wanted. Too much of a country boy. Summer liked being away from the city as well, but having most food shopping being an airship or boat ride away was a little irritating.

Summer left the sidewalk and walked up the dirt path to the log cabin team STRQ called home base. Frankly, Summer was just happy to have a place of their own instead of an apartment downtown. Besides the sometimes poor food situation, it was much cheaper to live out here than in the city.

She shifted both bags to her left hand again and she opened the front door with her right. "I come bearing gifts!" she shouted.

Qrow leaned his head over the back of the couch he occupied. "Is it peace and quiet?"

"Nope! Better than that! Food!" Summer kept walking to the kitchen. Tai was grading papers on the table inside.

"You've got my attention." Qrow stood up and entered the kitchen as well.

Summer smirked. "Of course. You're a guy." She set her bags on a table that wasn't occupied by various papers.

Tai finally looked up from his work. "Got everything for the mini pizzas?"

"Of course. I got pretty much everything on the list too." Summer grabbed the zipper on one of the bags, but hesitated before opening. "Something shifted in here after I teleported."

Both her teammates stared at her. "You sure you should be opening that in the house?" Qrow asked.

"Not around these tests." Tai pulled all the papers closer to him. "I've already had to give the entire class once because I lost their tests. I'd rather not have to do that again."

Summer nodded and picked both bags up and brought them out into the living room. She set the suspect bag on a coffee table and grabbed the zipper again. "Fire in the hole!" She yanked the zipper to the other side and braced for impact. A few seconds went by and nothing happened, but she'd seen one of these go after half a minute. She winced as she waited to be assaulted by a tin can. But still, nothing exploded at her.

"All clear!" Summer sighed. She reached inside and pulled out the first thing. Her smirk returned. "Qrow. I got something for ya."

Qrow stuck his head out of the kitchen and his eyes widened. Summer could practically she the non-existant drool coming out of his mouth. "You didn't."

"I did. Want one now?"

"Yes, please."

"Coming right up." Summer pulled one of the bottles of orange pop out of the plastic and set the rest down. She focused on the one bottle still in her hand. A white light filled the room as Summer let her unique Aura flow. The temperature in the room dropped slightly and the bottle started to frost up. Summer cut the Aura flow and she faced Qrow. "Heads up." She underhanded to bottle to Qrow.

"Thanks." Qrow caught the bottle, opened it, and took a swig all in one motion. "Ah, perfect temp. Thanks Sum."

"Any time." Summer opened the other bag, this time not expecting a tasty explosion. Thankfully the bag cooperated. She brought both back into the kitchen and began unloading. "Tai, where did you learn to pack like this?" She pulled out a bag of flower that by itself should have filled half the bag. She pulled out a second one just like it and there was still a ton of stuff inside.

"Family secret." Tai wrote a big A in red ink and circled it. He looked at the bags of flour and then to Summer. "You know, there's a Bostco for buying in bulk."

"Yeah, but then I have to deal with the membership fee, the long lines, and the crazy people." Summer shook her head. "I deal with enough crazies on the job, thank you very much."

Tai gave a sideways nod. "Fair point on the crazies."

"Plus, these were on sale. Two for five." Summer took out a box of Zebra Squares. "These are yours. I know you said you wanted some."

"Thanks." Tai took the box and set it beside his work. "You know, you're going to get us all fat."

"Not with our morning workouts. Whatever you gain at night, you burn off before ten." Summer continued to unpack the bags, this time giving Tai some quiet to do his grading. With everything in its proper place, Summer began to make a list of who owed her what for their snacks. Everything else they shared the costs.

The front door opened again. "I'm back," the missing member of the team called.

"Hey, Rae!" Summer yelled back as she used a magnet to stick the list to the fridge. "How'd your mission go?"

"Pretty well, but my latest gunshot wound isn't exactly happy with me right now."

"Eehh. How bad?" Summer's eyes flicked to Tai. He had tensed up and his motions became jerky. Were those two fighting again? Summer entered the living room and saw Raven sprawled out on the loveseat with an arm over her face.

"Enough to make birding difficult." Raven lifted the offending leg, then brought it back down. "It sucked coming back too."

"Ice pack? Ibuprofen?"

"Neither. I'll suck it up."

Summer's shoulders slumped. "That's not bandit pride talking, is it?"

"If it was that, I'd tell you to go jump in a lake." Raven removed her arm and smirked at Summer. "I thought it was good thing to work around pain on mission?"

"It is, but this isn't a mission."

"I'm fine, mom." Raven rolled her eyes. "I've had worse."

"She's not lying," Qrow chipped in. "Our parents weren't the nicest people around."

"That's an understatement," Tai said from behind Summer. STRQ's leader turned her head back. Tai was leaning against the doorframe. His usual smile nowhere to be seen. Him and Raven were definitely fighting again. "How you doing?" Tai asked past Summer.

"I'm fine Tai," Raven said. She said 'Tai,' not 'Taiyang.' That at least meant Raven was willing to talk. "My Aura didn't fail at any point."

Tai stared for a few seconds, then sighed. "I'm glad you're alright, Rae."

Summer's shoulders relaxed. She couldn't have hoped for that. "So Rae, what was your mission anyway? You sort of just…took off."

"I got a call from Barty about having problems in his post just outside of Vacuo." Raven shrugged. "Peter got surrounded. Took em all out, but his arm was shattered. You all know him. 'Just a papercut.' That thing's going to take more than his Aura to heal. He might be done." Raven smirked at Summer. "City people can brush off pain too."

"Other than that, he's fine, right?" Qrow asked. He took another swig of his pop.

"Yeah. He'll be fine. He's as tough as an Ursa." Raven paused for a moment, then sighed. "Then I got a tip on a Nevermore warehouse by one of their thugs in town."

Summer's shoulders slumped. "Oh." And this is where the 'but' came in.

Tai grunted. "I figured you'd get back at them."

Raven pushed herself off the loveseat and glared at Tai. "I helped rescue six more Faunus kids from their captors. Would you have preferred I let them stay in chains?"

"That's not why you did it. How much Lien was involved?"

"More than you make in a month at Signal."

"This again!" Tai threw his hands up. "Is that all you care about?"

"Guys," Summer put her arms out in between Tai and Raven, "please don't fight."

Tai pushed past Summer and marched straight to Raven. "How many people did you slaughter this time?"

"It's _never_ been slaughter!" Raven jumped off the love seat and got up in Tai's face. "All those people were armed and they all deserved it!"

Summer's head slumped between her shoulders and she retreated to the kitchen. She sat down and the table and buried her face in her arms. Why did those two have to fight? They did while they were just teammates and then while they were dating, but never like this. Where was the cute, romantic relationship they had while they were dating?

A chair moved beside Summer. Considering the shouting match going on in the other room, it could only be one person. "What are we going to do, Qrow?"

"Let them sort it out. They always do."

Summer took her head off her arms. "This is the second time this month, and they've only been married three. What if this becomes a common thing and they separate?"

Qrow shrugged. "You finally get your chance with-"

Summer slammed a hand over Qrow's mouth. She checked to make sure neither Raven nor Tai could hear before glaring at Qrow. "Don't even think about that. Him and Raven are together, and I'm happy for them."

"Good." Qrow said, muffled through Summer's hand. He pulled off the muffler. "I don't need you stealing my sister's husband." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Trust me, this Raven is more open than the one I knew back with the tribe. If you and Tai have gotten to her at all, she'll come around. She doesn't act like one of them anymore, but she still has their temper."

"So do you sometimes." Summer nodded.

"There is that." Qrow paused. "Since the mood's already gone, I have to ask. How's the kid?"

Summer sighed and rested her chin on her arms. "She was happy to have her 'Auntie Summer' there. At least someone she knows isn't dead." Summer shook her head. "Her mom and sister were cut down right in front of her. I'm surprised she's as sane as she is."

"She the next Fall Maiden?"

"Yeah. Her Aura's too strong for her not to be."

Qrow sighed. "Let me guess, Oz says having two Maidens under one roof is a terrible idea?"

"Spot on." Summer rolled her eyes. "But here's safer than putting her in witness protection outside the Kingdom. I tried convincing him, but he was adamant." She sighed. "At least I can get there in less than an hour if needed."

"Who's Oz putting her with?"

"Cherry. She'd met Amber a few times already. They'll get along." Summer paused. "But she's not 'Auntie Cherry.' I don't know how Amber will adjust."

"Like you said. If anything goes wrong, you can be there within the hour."

"I hope she has my Scroll number. Cherry might, but I don't know for sure."

The front door slammed and it shook the walls of the house. Someone wasn't in a good mood. Summer stood up peeked into the living room. Surprisingly, it was Raven standing in the center of the room, not Tai. "Raven?" Summer said.

Raven glared at Summer. "I'm not talking about it." She stormed up the stairs and disappeared. Seconds later, another door slammed.

Summer winced and sighed. A hand fell on her shoulder. "You're not a marriage counselor, Sum."

"No, but I'm team mom, and two of my kids aren't getting along." Summer straightened. "I'm going to have to do something about that."

"Wait, two of your kids are married to each other?"

Summer whipped around and grabbed Qrow's ear. She pulled the ear down and Qrow yelped. "What was that? Qrow, do you want timeout? Do you want to go to your room?"

"No. No mommy."

"Good boy." Summer let go of Qrow's ear. "One more joke like that, and you're grounded. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, mom." Qrow groaned and he rubbed his ear.

"That's what I thought." Summer sighed and faced upstairs again. "I'll figure something out. I always do."

* * *

 **Wow. Writing for Raven sure feels different. Summer, well, I've done it before. Even so, not like this.  
**


	2. Tell Me What You're Feeling

**So, in case you didn't know, you can watch RWBY early if you have a regular account on RT's site. Last year it was a day after FIRST members, this time it's the Tuesday after…I guess they're jumping on the RWBY Tuesday train now. So for all us people who don't want to spend however much for FIRST, our day for Volume 5 is October 17.**

* * *

"Raven," Summer called as she walked down the stairs, "I'm going to the mainland. Want to-"

"Yes." Raven stormed out of the kitchen, her fists balled. "Get me out of this house."

Summer frowned. It wasn't even ten. What happened so early in the morning? "You don't even know why I'm going."

"And I don't care. I need to clear my head." Raven glared back into the kitchen. She stomped to the door and grabbed her sword before smashing the front door open. With the punishment that door received over the years, it was a miracle that it was still in one piece, even more so that it still locked.

Summer sighed and finished walking down the stairs. She peeked into the kitchen and saw Tai gripping the edge of the sink. His whole body stood like a statue. Qrow sat at the table eating toast, and a glass of orange juice sat to the side. A normal day for him, not his partner.

"Tai," she called in. Tai turned his head back. "I'll get her out of your hair for a few hours. See what's really bothering her too."

"You do that." Tai faced the sink again. "Good luck getting anything out of her. She's as open as Mary's Market."

"You'd be surprised," Summer mumbled. She locked eyes with Qrow and gestured to Tai. He nodded then returned to his toast.

Summer finally followed her partner outside, picking up Sun's Light on the way out. Raven was going through her stretches, even though the team workout was an hour ago. Raven straightened back up and turned to Summer. "Ready to go partner?" Her voice had already leveled.

"I'm the one who suggested this, remember?'" Summer approached Raven with a smile on her face. "I was ready to go right after our workout.

Raven shook her head. "Of course you were. We taking Bumblebee or are we walking and teleporting?"

"The fare to transport vehicles across the straight has gone up. It doesn't make sense."

"Really?" Raven put her hands on her hips. "You bought that thing, and how many times have you actually driven it?"

"I know." Summer sighed. "If the Armen Highway is ever built, I might have to rent a garage on the mainland. Then I can actually get some speed up."

"Speed demon." Raven smirked. "Let's get going."

Summer flicked her eyes to the edge of the yard and teleported there. She turned back to Raven. "Way ahead of you."

Raven shook her head and she walked to close the distance. "You know, you're not as funny as you think you are."

"Really?" Summer smirked. "Why don't you Summerize your argument?"

"Oh boy." Raven brought a hand to her face. "I walked right into that one, didn't I."

"You flew into it, bird brain." Summer's smirk turned into a full-blown smile. Now _this_ was the Raven she knew back at Beacon. Well, fourth year anyway. "Come on. I was planning on getting brunch at Lenny's."

"Been a while since we've been there." The partners started walking toward the beach. "What's new with you since I've been out of town?"

"Not much." Summer shook her head. "It looks like the Grimm have finally calmed down after Mountain Glen. No outlying village is hiring anymore, and Vale's Huntsman defense has turned into a full time job. Like, literally, not time commitment. Those Huntsmen are paid a salary by the Kingdom. If I want to find a job, I'm really going to have to go out there or work directly with the police here."

"So killing Grimm, or helping people in the city." Raven shook her head. "One is fun and a public service, the other is direct public service but more visible. I wonder which you'll choose."

"I'm being serious here, Rae. VPD's top Huntsman detective is retiring, so there's going to be an open spot. It sounds like the job's going to someone already there, and that's going to bump a whole lot of people up. There's an open position somewhere, and I'm thinking about taking it."

Raven blinked. "Really? I never thought you'd be a cop."

"Neither did I. But it's a constant income unlike defense missions, and I won't be away from home for long periods at a time."

"Still get homesick?"

"Oh yeah, just not as bad as first year." Summer shook herself at the memory. The homesickness alone was terrible. Losing her mom to cancer made it worse. She broke her leg in her second month at Beacon and she thought it was over. But Tai, Qrow, and a few other teams rallied around her. Raven was there too, but she still had the bandit 'the strong live and the weak die,' mentality, not that anyone knew about her past at that time. Either way, the rest of that semester, even though she was in a boot and on crutches for a while, were the best couple of months of her life.

The partners arrived at the beach and looked out over the water to the city. "Still can't make it to the other side in one go?" Raven asked.

"First time yesterday." Summer puffed her chest out. "I was carrying groceries too. I knew I had it in me."

"I don't believe it." Raven shook her head. "There's no way."

"Wanna bet?" Summer put her hands on her hips. "Let's race. First to the beach wins. Loser buys brunch." She took a hand off her hip and stuck it out to Raven.

"You're on." Raven took the hand and squeezed. "Hope you don't mind me getting steak."

"I don't. You're paying." Summer smiled and faced the mainland. Raven drew her sword and swung it in front of her. Both teammates crouched down in running position. "Three." Summer stuck her tongue out.

"Two." Raven dug her feet into the sand.

"One." Both of them put more pressure on their feet. "Go!" Summer sprang to her feet while Raven rushed forward. She picked out Raven's portal on the beach and teleported directly beside it. As expected, Raven hadn't made it through. Summer hunched down where Raven would come through.

A second later, Raven burst through and swung her hands up. "Yes! Take that…" She blinked and dropped her arms.

"What took you so long?" Summer asked in her best old woman voice. "It's been fifty years."

Raven stood silent, then sighed. "I thought you were exaggerating."

"Nope!" Summer bounced to her full height. "Next milestone is from Patch to Beacon."

"I suppose I owe you brunch." Raven rubbed the back of her head. "Be nice, will you?"

"It's me. Am I ever mean?"

"I don't think I've seen you mad." Raven shook her head. "Which one we going to, the one on main?"

"It's the closest, and the least busy." Summer started walking toward the city. "Come on, slowpoke. Time's a wasting!"

"You know, I've been there before." Raven speed walked to Summer's side. "I could be on the roof of that place by now."

"And _you_ know I'd jump in your portal before you could close it. No getting rid of me then."

"I don't know. I could try." Raven smirked. "Then I'd have two of you to have fun with."

"I don't know what you're into, but I'd for sure be having fun with my parents."

"See? Fun times all around." The partners made it to the city sidewalk. Their banter continued, and Summer dropped a few more well placed puns that she was proud of. Of course, Raven groaned or facepalmed at every one. She just didn't understand the art.

After a few long red lights and idiot drivers cutting them of, Summer and Raven made it to Lenny's. As Summer expected, the place was practically dead. She and Raven were seated right away. Their waitress came for their orders and they ordered right away. Their choices never changed, no matter where they went.

The projections on the wall were showing a VNN broadcast, and from the look of it, they were talking about a warehouse raid in Vacuo. Summer saw Raven's eyes flick to the projections and back. There wouldn't be a better time to bring this up. "That was you, wasn't it?" Summer gestured to one of the projections.

Raven grimaced. "Yeah. What about it?" She always tried to act tough around Summer, but starting their third year at Beacon, Summer could see right through it. Now, Raven was nervous.

"How many people did you take down?"

"I saved six Faunus. That's what I count."

Summer frowned and Raven winced. "How many?

Raven hesitated. "Five, Vacuo police got the sixth." She glared at Summer. "Don't give me that look and say nothing." After all this time, she was still looking for other people's approval.

But Summer still hadn't figured out what she needed to. Maybe it was time to just say it. "Raven, I don't care about how many people you took down. I don't care how many times you've done this. I don't even care how many Faunus you've rescued. None of that matters if you're doing it for the wrong reasons. So I'll ask, why are you taking on the Nevermores?"

"I…uh…" Raven stuttered, "it's the right thing to do. I heard about what was going on and I had to do something about it."

Summer shook her head. "That's the Summer answer. What's the Raven answer?"

Raven stared at the empty table in front of her. "I will admit, the first time was for Lien. I was finishing up another mission in Vacuo when I saw how many missing kids there were, and the rewards for most of them were pretty high. Vacuo police aren't the most trustworthy cops on Remnant, but they take anything involving kids deathly serious. The deal was we share information, and if any of each other's information led to finding the kids, we'd split the reward.

"I can't say enough that this was only the first time." Raven raised her hands in defense. "I followed a tip that led me to the first warehouse. I expected just one to be there. Not five in chains and…" Raven looked around the restaurant, "in such a bad condition I don't want to say in public. I'd heard of other bandit tribes doing this to their prisoners. Besides the whole thing being wrong, it got personal."

Raven crossed her arms. "Still, I'm expecting a nice payment to be wired to my account in the next few days. My contacts in Vacuo still think I'm doing this for the Lien. It's better that then them thinking I actually care. All I want either to think is that I'm a former bandit after Lien before anything else." Her head dipped. "It does pay well."

Summer stared at her partner, trying to process everything she just heard. Raven was originally out for lien, but that was now only for her cover. She was working with albeit corrupt police to find these kids. But something wasn't sitting right. Summer leaned forward. "Raven, look into my eyes." Raven's red orbs tilted away from the table. "Are you doing this for revenge against other tribes?"

"No." Raven kept her eyes locked with Summer's. "I had…acquaintances who were in that situation back when Qrow and I were with our tribe. I don't want to see anyone in that position again." Her face stayed stoic. None of her usual tells shone forth.

That time there was no denying it. Summer let her face soften and she let her lips curl up. "Thank you, Raven. That's what I needed to hear."

"You're not…mad at me?" Raven timidly asked. Still the people pleaser.

Summer shook her head. "Not at all. I was disappointed before because you'd never tell us what you were doing. The way you acted when we asked said we wouldn't like the answer. Now I see none of us had to worry."

"You're not…upset about the people I…" Raven let the thought hang.

"I wasn't there." Summer shook her head. "Considering we all know how to take down people without taking their lives, I'm assuming you felt like you had to do that. Unless you have something else to say, I'll trust your judgement."

Raven's shoulders sagged and a smile formed on her face. "Thanks, Sum." She set a hand on the table.

"Anytime, Rae." Summer grabbed the offered band and cocooned it with both of hers. "I know you've never been the most open person. This can't have been easy for you." Summer paused. "You know, you should tell Tai too. It might help smooth things over with him."

"Maybe." Raven pulled her hand back. "We're fighting about more things than just that."

"Then it's a start." Summer retracted her hands as their waitress was coming back. "Food's coming. Why don't we talk about something more pleasant?"

"Works for me." Raven smirked. "How about Steel Gray's new movie?"

Summer fake swooned. "That is one beautiful man."

* * *

"Dangit!" Summer yelled. "He _is_ married…" Her entire body slumped and her Scroll hand dangled a few feet above the concrete. "Why are all the nice looking movie stars married or dating?"

"Quite a few are gay too." Raven smirked and patted her partner's back. "You'll find someone. You're too cute to be single forever." Her smirk grew. "You could try again with Qrow."

"Ew!" Summer pushed Raven away. "You know what happened with that."

"Yeah." Summer pushed back. "You punched him through a wall when he tried to kiss you."

"Not on a first date!" Summer swung her arms in front of her. "And definitely _not_ any of that other stuff!" She scowled and pointed a finger directly at Raven's face. "Don't you _dare_ say anything about that."

Raven held up her hands in surrender. "Never even crossed my mind." In truth, it did, but the last time she mentioned getting Summer laid, she was singing soprano for a week. She didn't have that kind of equipment. How did Summer even do that?

She heard sirens blaring behind her. A police cruiser blew by seconds later, the fifth one in under a minute. Something was up. "Sum, I'm not the only one seeing those, right?"

"Nope." Summer stared after the later car as it disappeared around a corner. "Let's check on this. Be ready to get backup if needed."

"Will do." Raven drew her sword a fraction of an inch then slid it back. It wouldn't due to scare people around here by running around with an oversized sword. She and Summer slowly made their way toward where all the police were heading. Raven would have preferred to just cut across the roads, but Summer was with her, and there were already so many crazy drivers out there. She did not need to add broken legs from being hit by a car to her ever growing injury list.

They rounded a corner and saw a perimeter of cop cars and a SWAT van outside a building. Raven and Summer locked eyes and nodded. They jogged forward up to the perimeter and ever growing crowd. Raven pushed through the crowd as gently as she could. She and Summer made it to the police tape and Summer tried to wave down a police officer.

It took a while, but one finally walked over. This guy had the markings of a lieutenant. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to stand back. This is a dangerous situation."

"We know dangerous." Summer jerked her head to Raven. "We're Huntresses." Summer grabbed Sun's Light's sheath and jerked it in front of her. Raven did the same with her own weapon.

The cop looked between the two. "Either of you good with stealth?"

Raven nodded. "I am. Both of us can teleport in our own ways."

"And if you need it, I'm a sniper." Summer smirked. "I can make a Beowolf a cyclops from five hundred yards out. Taking care of any weapon shouldn't be a problem."

After a few more seconds of staring, the lieutenant nodded. "Come with me, but stay close to the building." He lifted the tape and the two Huntresses ducked underneath. "We have a hostage situation here. A man is holding his ex-wife at gunpoint. From what we gather, this started over custody arguments. But he's not the smartest guy in the world. He's in her living room with his gun pointed at her head, in full view of the rest of the city."

Summer searched the surrounding buildings. "I take it you have snipers up there?"

The lieutenant shook his head. "Sniper unit's on the way and SWAT's moving up inside."

"Is he talking with negotiators?"

"He is, but his demands make no sense." The lieutenant shook his head. "Either way, his gun's still in a bad place." He turned to Summer. "If you're really as good as you say you are, we'll need your aim."

Summer gave the man a salute. "You can count on me!"

"If you have police scanners on your Scrolls, listen in."

Raven took out her Scroll and opened the right app. "I'm good when you are, Sum."

"Good. We're going up." Summer clapped a hand on Raven's shoulder and looked up to another roof. Before Raven knew it, she was standing on the roof of that building. She stumbled a little as white rose petals rained down around her. Teleporting with Summer was always disorienting. To be fair, anyone else but Qrow going through her portals puked their first time through.

Raven shook her head and turned back toward the building the suspect was holed up in. She crouched low behind the half wall and looked over the side. Sure enough, on the third floor, a man held a gun to the back of a woman's head, in full view of the rest of the city. He also held a Scroll to his ear and it looked like he was yelling into it. His gun arm shook. He was nervous, equally likely to pull the trigger and not to.

A familiar sound came from Raven's right. The business end of Sun's Light slid into sight. Raven put her Scroll on the wall between her and Summer. "Sniper team in position." Summer said. "Awaiting instructions."

" _Hold fire until necessary,"_ a voice came over the Scroll. _"You're the only one with a direct shot. If provoked, take it."_

"I copy. Sniper out." Summer pushed a button on the Scroll while never moving her weapon. She grimaced. "I don't have a good angle at his gun. I'm moving." Summer slowly moved to the side while keeping her gun on the hostage taker. Raven followed her while listening to police chatter. It sounded like the SWAT team was just outside the apartment and VPD's sniper unit was still a couple minutes out.

Meanwhile, Raven searched the apartment for other avenues of entry. With the position of the man's gun and likelihood to shoot, Raven couldn't just open a portal in there and run through. There wasn't enough time. It looked like the police cleared the apartment above as well. If she could get in there, she could possibly…

She noticed the hostage taker staring up at her and Summer. The man grimaced and yelled into his Scroll more. His arms trembled and his aim wavered. The woman's head sunk and it looked like she was crying up a storm. The man took his Scroll off his ear and yelled directly into the mic. He threw it down and focused on the gun in his hand and the back of his ex-wife's head. He was going to shoot.

A gunshot rang out, but from Raven's side, not the building. The window and gun shattered, and the Dust round still had enough energy to punch into the man's chest. He staggered backward and fell to the floor. The SWAT team burst into the room and the woman dove for cover. But Raven could tell, even from this distance, the man wouldn't be getting up ever again.

Raven straightened on her knees. "Nice shot, Sum." She waited for the inevitable 'Just _add_ another one to the tally' joke or off by half an inch excuse.

But it never came. Raven turned her head to her partner and froze, and not just because the temperature had dropped considerably. Summer's eyes were as wide as they could possibly get. Her whole body except for her sniper trained arms shook like and earthquake. Neither her chest or her stomach were moving. Summer wasn't breathing.

What got Summer like this? It was just... "Oh no." Raven looked back to the man who was surrounded by cops. Summer's first human kill. And Raven just congratulated her on it.

Raven hesitantly reached a hand to her partner's shoulder. "Summer?"

On contact, Summer's head flicked to Raven. Her eyes leaked. "What did I just do?" she whispered.

"You saved someone's life Summer." Raven spoke slowly and carefully. She knew Summer wouldn't take her first kill well, but she didn't know how bad it would be.

"By…by taking another…" Summer's eyes fell to her weapon. She threw it clear to the other side of the roof.

That wasn't good. Summer would _never_ treat her weapon like that. "Summer…" Raven reached her other hand over.

Summer stared at Raven. "You…you do this all the time?" She batted both hands away. "Get away from me!" She stood up and backed away from her partner.

"Summer, what happened to our talk earlier?" Raven stood up and took a few tentative steps forward.

"Stay away from me Raven!" Summer took even more steps back, shaking her head. "I'm…I'm a…"

 _Hero! You're a hero!_ Raven thought as loud as she could, not that Summer would ever be able to hear.

"…a killer." Summer's head jerked to the side. In a flash of rose petals, she was gone.

Raven ran to the edge Summer looked over and searched everywhere in that direction. But she saw no more rose petals. Summer could teleport from Patch to the mainland. She could be anywhere. Raven ran her fingers through her hair. This wasn't good. If Summer didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be. Unfortunately, Raven taught her everything she knew about disappearing.

She heard something come over her Scroll. For a split second, Raven thought it was Summer, but that couldn't be it. Still she scooped it off where it sat. _"I say again, sniper team, what's your status?"_

"One shot, one kill," Raven responded. "Wish it could have gone differently, but it's the hand we were given."

" _Copy that, sniper team. Your assistance has been appreciated. Someone will be on your roof shortly to take your statements."_

Raven stared at the Scroll and didn't respond. She'd been working in Vacuo for so long, she'd forgotten about this part. The lieutenant on the ground saw two Huntresses not one. It would take too long to get Qrow down here wearing a skirt and one of Summer's hoods. If she left to get him and whoever came, she'd get everyone in trouble.

She closed the police scanner app and called Qrow's Scroll. She waited impatiently for him to pick up. _"This is Qrow,"_ his voice finally came through.

"Summer's gone," Raven blurted out.

Only static came from the other end. _"Gone, what do you mean gone?"_

"As in she's run off. Qrow, she killed a hostage taker."

More silence, then, _"Shit. Tai! Freeze all our accounts. Summer's on the run."_

" _What?"_ Tai's voice faintly came through the Scroll. _"What happened?"_

" _Just do it! I need to get to the city."_ Raven heard a door slam on the other side. _"I'm on my way. You're going to have to get Tai over there."_

"I will. Just get in the air.' Raven ended the call and walked over to where Sun's Light landed. She picked it up and immediately started wiping it down to try and get rid of any of Summer's fingerprints. Then she grabbed it all over trying to get her own covering as much as possible. Hopefully this worked.

She turned to the door to the roof and her own weapon swung around her waist. For the first time she could remember, she didn't want to be anywhere near her own weapon. She drew her sword and sliced open a portal in front of her. She sheathed it and threw the combination through. The portal closed, separating her from the quickest way back to it. It was a few buildings over

The door to the roof opened. Raven almost breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was. She never really liked her, but Summer did. "Glynda, you don't know how happy I am to see you."

"That would be a first." Glynda Goodwitch crossed her arms, her cape flowing in the slight breeze. She looked around the roof. "I spoke with the lieutenant on the ground. He made it sound like it was you and Summer up here."

"It was, and she took the shot."

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "Then where is she?"

Raven gave a full body shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine. She ran off right after."

"That's unlike her. She's the one person on your team who liked to follow the rules."

"She just killed someone!" Raven tried to keep her voice down so everyone in Vale didn't hear. "We're in uncharted waters here."

Glynda scowled. "That is no excuse. Your whole team should know the laws about Huntsmen working in Kingdoms."

"Are you threatening to throw us in jail?" Raven laughed without humor. "Call your boss and ask him why that's a bad idea, and why we want to keep Summer's face off the news. If you wait to do that until after you report me and her to the police, it'll be too late."

Glynda narrowed her eyes and looked Raven up and down. She took her Scroll out of a pocket and hit a few buttons on it. Without taking her eyes off Raven, she rose the Scroll to her ear. After a few seconds of waiting, she straightened. "Headmaster, I am with Raven Branwen in downtown Vale where she and Summer Rose ended a hostage situation with Summer firing on the hostage taker. Summer Rose is in the wind and Raven insists that it's a terrible idea to report them to the authorities."

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "But, Headmaster, I can't…" Glynda faced away from Raven. "Why can't I report them? I have to…" She froze and nodded. "Understood sir…Okay, I'll tell her."

Glynda took her Scroll away from her ear and sighed. "For now, I'm going to assume you two are doing undercover work. I'll tell the police what they want to hear, but I still need written statements from both of you."

Raven shrugged. "I can fake her handwriting, if you've got a pen."

"I do." Glynda paused. "Also, Ozpin wants to speak with you to know exactly what happened here."

"For once, I am fine with going to the Headmaster's office." Raven sighed. "Maybe he'll know how to find her."

* * *

 **Oh, poor innocent Summer...And no, I don't believe this is an overreaction.  
**


	3. Home

**So, the lazy bug bit me this past week. I've started searching for software that can read the chapters for me instead of me reading it out loud. In my defense, homework this semester is KILLING me...**

* * *

Raven stared at the ceiling above her bed. It wasn't even morning, and she wasn't there for a nap. The news she just found out was the best she'd heard in years. When she found out, she was ecstatic. Tai swept her off her feet when he heard. Qrow clapped both of them on the back, right before giving Tai the scolding of his life. The day should have been the best day ever.

But Summer wasn't there. There was no squeal of excitement, no 'full family' group hug, no puns that Raven didn't even know she missed. After a little over a month, Summer was still missing. No one heard from her, and no one had seen her. Her scroll activating for a few minutes each day was the only sign she was still in Vale. But by the time the rest of her team found out about each location, Summer was long gone.

Raven sighed and pushed herself off her bed. She looked to the clock. It was about time for her to make her daily call. She reached over to her dresser and picked up her Scroll. Summer's number was in the center of the home screen, now larger than everything else. Raven pressed it and brought the scroll to her ear.

As usual, she heard five rings before the voicemail took over. _"Summer…s Scroll! I'm probably fighting Grimm right now, so I can't pick up my Scroll. Leave a message, your name, and number and I'll try and get back to you as soon as possible. Later! BEEP!"_

"You know Sum, I'm still waiting for you to get back to me like your message says." Raven sighed. "If you're listening to this, I'm assuming you've at least seen all the others. If you haven't listened to them, I'll start from the beginning.

"Summer, I'm so sorry about what happened. There had to be a way around that somehow. I could have gotten in there and tackled him. I should have seen the signs." Raven bit her lip. She had no idea if what she was about to say was smart, but she said it on each one of these since the day Summer disappeared. "Summer, if you hadn't taken that shot, someone in the VPD would have. No one had any idea that gun only had blanks. Again, it's my fault this happened. I should have taken him down before you took the shot.

"We all miss you here, Sum. I didn't know how much your cheerful attitude brought to the team. Tai's tried to take over for your jokes and all that, but he falls flat most of the time. This place feels dark and dreary without you here. And…Amber called again this morning. She wants to talk to Auntie Summer. Tai keeps telling her that you're on mission and can't talk. She needs you too.

"Oh, and speaking of Tai, you were right. All I needed to do was tell him. We got over our other stuff pretty quickly too. Qrow says were back to the way we were back at Beacon, maybe 'worse,' so you'd probably think we're even cuter."

Raven paused. It was time to drop the bomb. "Summer, I'm pregnant. I just found out this morning. You should have seen Tai. I haven't seen him smile like that since you won the Vytal Festival Tournament. Qrow was…Qrow. Being a big brother, defending my honor and all that. I wish you were here for the reveal, Sum. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have as its Godmother.

"So, uh, yeah. That's all I got for today. Seriously, Summer, we miss you. Please, call me back, or call Tai, Qrow, Ozpin, anyone. We need to know you're okay." Raven sighed again. "I'll call again tomorrow. Talk to you later." She took her Scroll away from her ear and ended the call. Another day, another bust. She stood up and left the room, putting her Scroll in a pocket as she walked.

Her legs stopped as they always did outside Summer's room. Raven stared at the door. She turned away and continued walking. Staring at it wouldn't bring Summer back.

Raven walked down the stairs and toward the kitchen. Tai and Qrow were already in there looking things over on their Scrolls. Tai looked up and his bright smile returned. "Hey Rae, you hungry?"

"I am, actually. Didn't have breakfast."

"Do you ever have breakfast?" Qrow asked.

Raven stopped dead in her tracks. "It's starting already." She let her shoulders hang. "I'm going to be kneeling over the toilet in the morning, aren't I?"

Tai winced. "Probably." His smile took prominence again. "Still, what are you hungry for?"

"Let me see what we've got." Raven opened the fridge and looked around. "I think I'll take a smoothie, with pickles…chocolate sauce…grapes…and shredded cheese. And ice…or ice cream if we have any." She took out each item as she announced it and set it on the counter.

Qrow gagged behind her. "Are you being serious?"

"Very." Raven looked over the ingredients and nodded. "Looks good to me." Something in the back of her head screamed to listen to Qrow, but her eyes and stomach said otherwise.

"Okay then." Tai walked up to Raven. "One…crave fueled smoothie coming right up."

"Thanks babe." Raven kissed Tai on the cheek then sat at the table across from Qrow. "Anything new?"

Qrow grimaced. "Good ole Saint Nick just passed away in Atlas. His son in law Jacques is taking over."

"You don't sound too happy about that."

"He's a jackass." Qrow slammed his scroll down. "Cares about profits above all else. He's already planning to lay off a good chunk of people, and from the sound of it, most of them are Faunus."

"One of _those_ people?"

"Seems like it." Qrow sighed. "I can't imagine the cost of Dust is going to drop any either. It's all going to go to Jacques's pocket."

Raven paused. "So he's a Jacqueass?"

Qrow stared at Raven, then he smirked. "I like the sound of that."

"Not like Summer would ever say it." Raven shrugged. "Someone's got to." Any further conversation was cut off by the blender starting up. Raven watched her lunch spin and turn more and more brown. That should have looked nasty, but Raven heard and felt her stomach growl just looking at it. It looked delicious…These cravings were creeping her out and it was only the first day she knew she was pregnant.

The blender stopped and Tai pulled the container off the blender. "Order up." He took a tall glass out of one of the cabinets and poured the smoothie in. "One…sludge smoothie for the pretty lady."

"Thanks, Tai." Raven grabbed the glass from Tai and took a sip. It actually tasted pretty good. Everything just worked together. "Not bad."

Tai looked into the blender's container. "There's a little left in here." He tipped it up and dumped a little into his mouth. His eyes widened and he spit the sludge into the sink. "Holy crap, Raven! How can you drink that?"

Raven pointed at her belly. "Blame this."

"Okay, I'm interested." Qrow walked over to Tai and grabbed the sludge container. He dropped a few globs onto his tongue as well. His reaction was much the same as Tai's. "Sis, what the heck is wrong with you?"

"I'm pregnant. What do you expect?" Raven took a long draught on her own smoothie, not gagging in the slightest.

Her Scroll vibrated in her pocket. Windpathian Rhapsody played along with the vibration. Raven's eyes widened and she set her glass back on the table. She fumbled around for her Scroll. It was Summer's favorite song. Everyone on the team set their ringtone to that for Summer after she went missing.

Raven finally got her Scroll out and answered it. "Summer?" No one in the kitchen breathed. No answer came from the other side. Everything was silent. "Summer, are you there?"

" _Rrrraaaaeeee?"_ a voice sounding like Summer came over the Scroll.

"Summer!" Raven pulled her Scroll away from her ear and put it on speaker. She set the Scroll on the table. Tai and Qrow took other chairs. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

Again, silence. Then sobbing came through the Scroll's speakers. It started slow and weak, but grew in speed and volume as time went on. _"I… dot know. Too hazy."_

"Tai," Qrow said, "tracker, now."

"On it." Tai took out his own Scroll and pressed a few buttons. "Keep her on."

" _T…Tai?"_ Summer started. _"Y…you got Raen prgnent?"_

Tai blinked and looked around those at the table. This wasn't something Summer would usually ask. "Y…yes."

Muffled chuckling came over the Scroll. _"Goo job."_ More silence. _"Raen?"_

"I'm here." Raven leaned forward. "What do you need?"

" _Di you mean you said abou Gomotter?"_

"Every word. No one is better suited for the job."

Summer chuckled some more, but that turned into sobs. _"I sorry."_

"You have nothing to be sorry about Sum," Qrow assured. "Are you safe? Are there any Grimm nearby?"

" _A feww nice bees are hrrr."_

"Bees?" Raven asked.

" _Be…bo…boys."_

Raven stiffened and stared at Tai. "Please tell me you have her."

"She's two blocks west of the Hy-Dee."

"Summer, stay where you are." Qrow stood up. "Raven and I are coming after you."

Raven didn't wait for a response. She burst from her chair and ran out into the living room. She grabbed her sword and sheath and body slammed the front door. Qrow ran right on her heels. Raven swung her sword in front of her and a portal opened.

"Raven!" Qrow yelled. "I'm in the air, you're on the ground." He turned into a bird right then and there. The siblings entered the portal at the same time. Raven dropped a dozen feet to the roof of the Hy-Dee and kept running to the edge of the roof. She jumped over the half wall and fell to the ground. She rolled on contact and sprang up. It occurred to her that this should probably be the last mission she should go on for a while. She didn't want to hurt her baby.

She shook her head and kept running west. "Summer?" she called as she searched every alley and storefront she passed. "Summer, where are you?"  
Raven stopped when she realized she ran four blocks away from the Hy-Dee. She passed her somewhere, or maybe she wasn't directly west.

Raven ran back the way she came. She turned north when she reached two blocks away and kept yelling Summer's name over and over. She passed an alleyway and stopped. There was something down there that looked familiar. She took a few steps back and focused on what she saw before. A couple of legs stuck out from behind a dumpster. A dirty white cape sat off just to the side. Raven thought she saw the hem of a black and red combat skirt as well.

Two guys stood a few feet away. One of them was on their Scroll. Both of them were staring down at Summer.

"Hey!" Raven yelled. She strode into the alley and drew her sword again. Both guys stared at her. "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing with my partner?"

One of the guys put his hands up. "Whoa! Whoa! We weren't doing anything!"

The guy on the Scroll looked between Raven and his device. "Yeah, it looks like one of her friends is here, and she's got a sword."

"Who are you talking to?" Raven pointed her sword at Scroll guy.

"One one nine." He held his free hand up. "We're just trying to help here."

Summer's legs moved and pulled back behind the dumpster. She poked her head out soon after. "Raen, nice bees."

Raven locked eyes with her partner and her sword arm dipped. She expected it while talking over the Scroll, but it was another thing entirely seeing it. Summer's eyes were glazed over in a thousand-yard stare. She couldn't sit still for more than a second without wobbling to one side or the other. Never-have-a-drop Summer Rose was plastered out of her mind. What bars were even open right now?

Raven sheathed her sword and ran to Summer's side. Just as she got there, Summer fell into her arms. Her leader smiled up at her, or was it past her? The thousand-yard stare made it hard to tell. "Summer, what happened to you?"

Summer's smile disappeared. She leaned her head into Raven's chest. Her breathing was ragged but generally steady. "Bad tings." She sniffled and leaned harder.

"Hey, it's okay." Raven rubbed the back of Summer's head. "We found you. You're safe now." She looked up to the two guys that apparently helped Summer instead of trying to hurt her. "Thanks for your help, but we'll take it from here." As if on cue, Qrow swooped down from the sky and landed on Summer's shoulder. He pressed his feathered head into Summer's cheek.

The two guys exchanged a glance. "But an ambulance is on the way. What should we tell them?"

"If they complain, tell them call Headmaster Ozpin. He'll explain." Raven returned her attention to her partner. "Come on, Sum. Let's get you home." She took one of Summer's arms over her shoulders and hooked one of her own under Summer's. They slowly stood up together. Summer stumbled a few times, but Raven didn't let her fall.

"Come on, Sum. One step after the other." Raven drew her sword and swung it in front of her. A portal opened and Raven and Summer walked toward it, though it was more like Raven carried Summer.

Summer groaned and tried to pull away. "Notthrough there…"

"Sum, right now this is the only legal way to get you home. I'm with you the whole way." Raven pulled Summer along and Qrow chittered on her shoulder. The two stepped through the portal and into the front yard of the house. Summer's legs buckled and she barely caught herself from falling on her face. She heave and hacked and threw up what looked like everything she'd eaten in the past two days.

Raven knelt by her partner and rubbed her back. "Let it out, Sum. I'm here." As if taking that as a challenge, Summer put out even more of her former food and drink. It didn't look like it was going to end any time soon. Raven looked to where Qrow now stood as a human. "Get the bathtub filled and be ready for laundry."

"Got it." Qrow turned away and ran for the house.

"Thissucks…" Summer moaned. She spit out another glob of vomit. Her arms shook violently.

Raven hooked her hands under Summer's shoulders and picked her up. She turned her partner so she wouldn't fall face first into the mess she made. "If it makes you feel any better, this is going to be me most mornings for the next few months."

"Maybeee…" Summer's cheeks puffed up again and more smelly green gunk burst out.

 _Note to self,_ Raven thought, _no portals when drunk._ She kept rubbing circles on Summer's back. "Get it out of your system. We'll get you cleaned up inside, put on one of your movies, Tai can give you a real back massage, the whole works. Anytime you want to hit the hay, just say so, and one of us will get you up there.

Summer spit once more, then turned her head to Raven. A weak smile formed on her face. "Ank you."

"Anytime." Raven returned the smile. Summer faced the ground again. Raven resumed rubbing her partner's back.

After a few minutes of nothing else coming up, Summer nodded. "Done."

"Okay. Let's get you inside." Raven helped Summer to her feet. They walked the remaining dozen feet or so to the house.

The front door opened right before they got there. Tai was standing on the other side. "Good to have you back, Sum." He patted Summer on the shoulder as she passed.

"Could you clean up the mess outside?"

Tai nodded. "Will do." He let the door close and walked toward the cleaning closet.

Raven guided Summer to the steps. Qrow came down the steps right as the ladies reached the bottom. He threw Summer's free arm over his shoulders. "I got the tub filled. Nice and sudsy too. Good temp, not that you can't change it one way or the other."

"Thanks Qrow." Raven and Qrow helped Summer up the stairs. Summer had to take a break on the landing. The twins gave her a few seconds before leading her upstairs again. Summer actually did most of her walking herself, but Raven and Qrow needed to help her keep balance. At the top of the stairs, Qrow left, leaving Raven with Summer.

Raven pushed open the door to the bathroom and walked Summer inside. "Okay, we're here." Raven helped Summer sit down on the closed toilet. "Let's get these off you and get you into the tub."

Summer knocked Raven's hands away and hugged herself…like she was covering herself. "I…can do dis."

"Okay!" Raven took a step back with her arms raised. "But someone's going to need to be in here to make sure nothing happens in there. If you want, I can go get you one of my bikinis. You can take care of everything else when you're sober."

Summer stared up at Raven, her eyes big and her lips pursed. Her head dipped, and she nodded. "Please."

"I'm on it." Raven left the bathroom and walked to the master bedroom. She searched her belongings for anything that would even slightly fit Summer. Raven wasn't exactly big like Tai, but Summer was an absolute twig. She picked out one of her older ones that should hopefully cover Summer.

Raven returned to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Is it safe?" The door opened a crack and only a hand stuck out. Raven handed both halves of the bikini over and Summer pulled them into the room. Summer never did like changing in front of others, and didn't even like wearing bikinis to the beach. As far as Raven could tell, Summer didn't have anything to be ashamed of. She was so honest, so pure…If anyone ever stole that from Summer, Raven would end them.

After a few minutes, Raven heard a splash. "Safe," Summer called.

"I'm coming in." Raven pushed the door open slowly and stepped inside. Summer was sitting at the edge of the tub, lowering herself in. Her normal, dirty clothes sat in a pile on the floor. Raven took another step in. Summer slipped and fell into the tub sideways. Water and suds splashed over the side.

"Summer!" Raven dashed to the tub's side and pulled Summer out. Summer gasped and flailed around for the sides of the tub. "Summer, you okay?" Summer nodded frantically as she breathed. "Okay, just stay here. I'll run your clothes to the laundry room. I'll be back. Try not to lay down."

Raven picked up Summer's pile and left the bathroom again. She sighed and walked it downstairs. Both Tai and Qrow stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up. "What happened?" Tai asked.

"She fell in." Raven sighed. "Didn't hurt herself, but there's another mess on the floor."

"I'll take care of that when you're done," Qrow said. "I guess I'll take all that now." He motioned for the pile of clothing.

"Set out some of Summer's favorite not-too-violent movies too." Raven handed it over then walked back upstairs. She entered Summer's room and searched the dresser inside for Summer's pajamas. The red and black zubaz weren't hard to find, neither was the white rose tank top Summer loved. Raven grabbed some of Summer's underwear as well. She returned to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet cover.

As soon as she did, Summer eased herself into the water and sighed. "Thississ nice."

"Would you like some music for now?" Raven took out her Scroll, already knowing the answer.

"Please," Summer sighed. Raven opened the music app on her Scroll. There was one song she knew Summer would like. She hit play, and Summer's thousand-yard stare took on a little more light. "I love thissong." She started 'singing' along with it and making all sorts of 'dance' moves, splashing more water and soap onto the floor. At the moment, Raven didn't care, and neither would Qrow when he came to clean all this up. Some part of Summer was starting to shine through. The alcohol couldn't completely drown out the goofiness in Summer. Raven kept an eye on her partner trying to not stare.

Windpathian Rhapsody played on repeat several times, Summer going along with each time like it was only the first. She was going to have one heck of a hangover in the morning. After like the seventh time or so, Summer put a hand on the side of the tub. "I'm done."

"I'll let you get dressed." Raven stood up and left the bathroom. "If you need help with anything, I'll be right out here." She closed the door and waited on the other side of the door. There was a little stumbling and grunting coming from the bathroom, but it didn't sound like Summer fell, so there was that.

A few minutes later, the door opened. Summer stood in her pajamas and leaned in the doorframe. She smiled and reached out a hand with Raven's soaked bikini. "Anks."

"Whatever you need." Raven threw her bikini back toward her room. That would be washed with everything else in a few days.

"Movie?" Summer took a step forward and lost her balance. Raven jumped forward to catch her, but Summer caught herself. Her smile never disappeared. "Getting better?"

"Sure you are." Raven wrapped an arm around Summer's shoulders. "Come on. Let's get you downstairs and you can pick out a movie." They walked back down the stairs. Tai and Qrow stood around the couch talking in hushed voices. "You have the movies out?" Raven called.

Qrow looked up and nodded. "All in a nice little row."

"Oooh." Summer's glazed eyes looked over the small collection even before she reached them. She knelt down and Raven kept her hands inches from her partner's shoulders in case anything went wrong. "I want…tiss one!" Summer pulled one moive out and held it above her head. She wobbled with the motion but Raven caught her before anything could happen.

"Okay, Sum," Tai sat on the couch directly behind Summer. "Lean back here and let me help out." Summer did as asked and Tai began one of his infamous back massages. Raven swore Tai could keep the team running on any injury after just a few minutes in his care, without using any actual medical supplies. That, and it just felt great when under stress.

While Qrow got the movie ready, Raven went to the kitchen to get Summer some water. Everything Summer lost outside alone had to dehydrate her. Raven searched the rest of the kitchen for anything Summer would like…but how much of that stuff would be safe for Summer to have? Usually Raven was the one getting plastered herself…Did Tai and Qrow even help her when that happened? _Don't go there right now,_ Raven scolded herself. _Summer needs help right now, not you._ Raven left the kitchen, grabbing an empty ice cream bucket on the way out. No point in Summer making a mess on the floor if she got sick again.

Familiar music played over the speakers and the projector swirled to life. Summer jumped off the floor and landed on the couch. "Start it! Start it! Start it!" she cheered.

Raven couldn't help but stare at her partner. This was not the same woman she talked with over the Scroll or saw in the alley. Being home must have helped her more than anything else could have. This is exactly how Raven thought drunk Summer would act. Hopefully she'd keep her current enthusiasm once she sobered up.

Otherwise, depressed Summer wasn't fun to deal with. The real work would begin then.

* * *

 **Yay! Summer's back! But...yeah. She's not herself.  
**


	4. Team Mom's Return

**Apparently Miles confirmed that Ruby's birthday is on Halloween. Guess what falls on a Tuesday this year. Gonna have some fun with that...in the author's note.  
**

* * *

Summer opened her eyes and immediately closed them. She groaned and turned over. It was too bright. Her headache wasn't helping much either. "Stupid hangover…" She raised her head. What alley did she end up in last night?

As her eyes adjusted to the harsh light, she blinked rapidly. This couldn't be right. She never stayed at a hotel. The few creeps that tried to get her in one probably weren't basses anymore. And why did this headboard look so much like her own on Patch? Summer looked around the room. She slowly extended her neck as she realized where she was.

This wasn't some nice-looking hotel. This was her room, in her team's house.

One thought took prominence in Summer's head. "How did I get here?" She tried to dig through her memories, hazy and scattered as they were. The last clear thing she remembered was walking into Appletree's and sitting at the bar there. After that, nothing was clear. Everything blended into one solid color. Maybe the others could help her put this together…

Summer buried her face in her pillow. Why didn't she go to her team? She went and did everything she didn't understand why people did it when depressed…Because she killed someone. She stole someone's life. In a custody battle gone wrong, she took the life of that poor girl's father…

Why couldn't she forget? Alcohol was supposed to do that, right? It sure as heck made sure she couldn't remember anything she did while under the influence, but what about all of _this_ time?...Where did the others keep their booze? Maybe some of that could help where others couldn't.

Summer pushed herself off the bed into a sitting position. The action alone made her head swirl. She stayed in that position for a good minute. After the world leveled, she stood from her bed. This time, she didn't lose balance and she sighed in relief. The less of that she had to go through, the better.

As she walked to the door, she noticed something on her computer desk. Her combat outfit sat folded on her keyboard, with a note pinned on top of that. A glass of water and what looked like a pill sat beside them. Summer walked to the desk and read the note. 'Fresh out of the laundry, and the water was cold when I brought it and the antacid in. -Qrow'

"That'll work." Summer put the antacid tablet in the water. It fizzed all the way to the bottom. Summer picked up the glass and chilled in in her hand. She took a small sip, then chugged the rest. It tasted so much better than that junk that was supposed to help her forget.

With that gone, Summer changed into her combat outfit. She sniffed her hood as she put it on. After not being machine washed in…well, her team probably knew how long, it smelled so good. No more alley dumpster smell.

Before Summer left her room, she looked at herself in her full-length mirror. She normally didn't care about how she looked, but for special occasions, and apparently situations like this, she wanted to know if she was presentable. Unlike the past month, her clothes didn't have a speck of dirt or mud on them. Her hood almost sparkled, even in the faint light. Her hair wasn't as straight as it could be, but most of it didn't run off in random directions. No red or other dark spots made themselves known anywhere on her face…Hopefully only Raven helped her wash up. Otherwise, she'd have to have a looong talk with Tai and Qrow.

Summer took a deep breath and left her room. She heard something from one of the projectors downstairs. It sounded like VNN, so that was probably where Tai and Qrow were. As she passed the closed door to the bathroom, she found out what Raven was doing. The sounds of retching followed by a splash came through the door. Summer winced. "Screw this," Raven groaned, right before more retching. That didn't sound good. Hopefully whatever it was wasn't too bad.

She walked down the stairs to the living room. As she guessed, Tai and Qrow were watching the news. It looked like 'Saint Nick' Nickolas Schnee had passed away in his sleep. Summer shoulders slumped. She met the guy once after she helped guard a train with replacement CCT equipment. He was every bit the Saint as he was made out to be. Summer didn't know about Jacques to know if he was a good fit or not.

The story changed to one about a White Fang rally and the two guys on the couch turned to each other. "How long until the price of Dust is going to skyrocket?" Qrow asked.

Tai shrugged. "He doesn't have a monopoly. He's still got Shoal and Sawe Dust to deal with."

"They'll be bought out soon enough." Qrow shook his head. "Like Raven said, the guy's a Jacqueass."

"Language, Qrow," Summer called as she reached the bottom of the steps. Both guys snapped their heads to her. "Also, it's not nice to call people names."

"Summer!" Both guys yelled at the same time. Tai ran around the couch while Qrow jumped over the back. Qrow collided with Summer and brought her into a tight but not rough hug. Tai came in from the side and joined in.

Summer melted into their arms and returned the hugs as best she could. "I missed this."

"We missed you," Qrow returned. "You had us worried."

"I can take care of myself."

Tai shook his head. "That's not why we were worried,"

Summer's head sunk. "All the other stuff."

"Spot on." Qrow pulled away, causing Tai to as well, but Qrow kept his hands on Summer's shoulders. "Summer, the first thing I learned from you at Beacon was to keep in contact with family, no matter how hard it is. Not hearing from the team mom for a month had us all scared to death."

"Can..." Summer felt her eyes welling up. "Can we talk about this when Raven is here?"

Tai and Qrow exchanged a look and both nodded. "We can." Qrow removed his hands and both guys returned to the couch.

Summer stayed roughly where she was. "What's wrong with her, anyway? The flu?"

Tai raised an eyebrow. "We told you in person yesterday."

"I was kind of drunk, okay?" Summer winced, not only at her tone of voice, but what she said. "I'm sorry. It's…hangover…" She rubbed the back of her head.

"You're good." Tai waved her off. "Anyway, it's not going to go away for a while."

"This isn't like when she got chicken pox, right?"

Qrow shook his head. "Our tribe apparently had no contact with that strain. Nah, from what I've seen on a few CCT sites, this is normal."

Summer sighed. "That's good to hear. How long has she had this?"

For whatever reason, Tai's cheeks turned red. "Uh, two weeks, at most." Qrow snickered too.

"Qrow!" Summer scolded. Qrow stiffened. "Your sister is up there losing her last three meals, and you're _laughing_ at that?"

"He's okay, Sum," Raven said. Summer whipped her head up and to the right. Raven stood at the top of the stairs, her face looking more than a little green. "Honestly, I'm laughing at me too. It's my own fault."

Summer bounded up the steps, ignoring the increased headache. She grabbed onto Raven's arm and helped her down the staircase. She thought she caught Raven smiling. "How you feeling?"

"Right now, terrible. It looks like I'm going to be dealing with this and a few other things for the next nine months."

" _Nine months?_ The flu doesn't stick that long. What lasts nine…months…" Summer blinked and stopped at the bottom of the steps. Pieces started clicking together. Raven was throwing up in the morning, Tai's face turned red when asked how long Raven had this, and Raven would have this for the next nine months. "Raven, what's your condition called?"

Raven scrunched her eyes. "I think it's ancient Valic, not easy to pronounce. What was it? Present? Pergerent? Prefernt?"

"Pregnant?" Summer offered, her own lips curling up.

"Yeah, that's it."

Summer's smile threatened to break her face. "Raven, you're going to have a little chick?"

"Yep." Raven cocked her head. "I don't know if I'd rather give birth normally or lay an egg."

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Summer threw her arms around her partner. She picked Raven up and spun in a circle. "You'regoingtomakeagreatmom! Ibetheorsheisgoingtobethecutestthingever! Ooh! CanIbeAuntieSummer? I'dtakethejobveryseriously." Summer set Raven down and set her sights on Tai. She grabbed him and brought him into a hug tornado as well. "Dadoftheyearrighthere! Ifyouneedanydadjokesjsutaskme!

Summer set Tai back down and tried to stop spinning. But if she stopped, the rest of the world kept spinning. Then everything wobbled at random angles. Her head threatened to explode like an overstuffed grenade. The world tilted backward and wind rushed past her. Something or someone caught her shoulders before the ground hit her back…wait, that made no sense.

"Easy, Summer, don't overdo it," Qrow soothed.

"That's kind of my thing, Qrow." Summer felt the floor dragging against her feet…no, the other way around. The loveseat appeared underneath her, and she was perfectly fine with that. If lying down made the world stop spinning, so be it. "But hangovers suuuuuuck. Raven, how do you do this?"

Summer didn't get an answer for a few seconds. "I've never been drunk every day for a month," Raven said.

"…Oh." Summer winced. "It's been that long?"

"A few days over, actually," Qrow said. "We were beginning to worry if we'd ever find you."

"I called you yesterday and told you I was pregnant." Raven shook her head. "I guess you were listening to my messages."

"You…left messages?" Summer fished her Scroll out of a pocket. She opened her voicemail box and looked through the three dozen messages, all of them from Raven, or the occasional salesman. All the ones from Raven were marked as listened. "I…guess you didn't call when I was sober."

"Summer," Tai started, "why did you stay away in the first place?"

"I…" Summer let her head sink into the armrest. Her sight became even more blurred as water filled her eyes. "I killed someone, Tai…That's something I can't just walk off. I needed some time to think it over."

"At a bar?" Qrow asked, sounding sad, not angry.

"His gun was empty." Summer shook her head. "Suicide by cop. That was bad enough, but now Raven's taking the heat…" She turned her head away. "I thought you'd hate me. I…I wanted to forget it all happened."

Summer waited for the hammer of judgement to come. They'd say she was an idiot. There were plenty of other ways to forget things. Raven would slam her for sticking her with the blame.

A hand fell on Summer's shoulder and squeezed it. Summer braced for impact. "Sum," Raven whispered, "don't you dare forget. Don't you dare turn into me." Summer blinked. She didn't expect to hear that. Another hand cupped the side of her face on the armrest and slowly tilted her head the other direction. Summer found herself staring up at Raven. "If you forget it, you'll keep on doing it. Trust me, I know. And I'm pretty sure you don't want to be involved in the things I have been. It's too late for me, but not you."

"But…" Summer blinked some of her tears away. "Aren't you mad at me for putting the blame on you?"

"More like I took it off you. I can handle that kind of crap. I'm used to it being from a bandit tribe." Raven gave Summer a smirk, but it wasn't cocky at all. "You may think I'm looking for other people's approval, but you wouldn't survive if people didn't like you."

"You're…not mad at me?"

Raven shook her head. "No. I'm disappointed you didn't come to us first."

Summer blinked rapidly, but the new tears stayed in place. She remembered she told Raven something similar the day she disappeared. "Thanks, Rae." She reached her arms out and pulled Raven down into a hug. "You're the best partner ever."

Raven's arms forced their way in between Summer's back and the loveseat. "I try."

Summer looked past her partner's head to the two guys on her team. "You two agree with her?"

Tai and Qrow exchanged a look. "Every word," Qrow said.

"She's been beating herself up for a month over this," Tai added. "This is the best personal advice I've heard her give."

"Then get over here." Summer jerked her head into the couch.

Qrow smirked. "You want the honors?" He gestured at the loveseat.

Tai bowed to Qrow. "It would be my pleasure."

Raven stiffened on top of Summer. "Oh no." Summer saw Tai jump for the loveseat. He landed on top of Raven's back, making her the filling in a Summer-Tai sandwich. Raven gasped for air. "Dang it, Tai! Lose some weight."

"Coming in!" Qrow shouted. He jumped and Raven braced herself again. More weight added to the pile, driving the breath from Summer's lungs. She didn't care. She pulled her arms out from in between Raven and Tai and tried to get them around Qrow's back. Normally she'd join in with Raven making comments about the guys' weights, or not because she was usually on top of the pile. She missed them so much and didn't want to let them go.

After a while in the hug pile, Raven pushed the two guys off. "Okay, I actually need to breathe now, and Summer's turning white."

Summer blinked. She felt fine. Wait, no. "You had to say it, Raven." She brought a hand to her head as her headache resumed and she took several deep breaths. "When will this go awaaayyyy?"

"I'll get you some more antacid." Qrow walked toward the kitchen.

"Oh, Summer, I have something else for you." Raven stood up and walked toward the front door. Summer sat up and watched her partner. Raven picked up something on the floor and brought it into Summer's line of sight.

Sun's Light in her sheath. Her baby. Her first partner. Her sniper/sword that never failed on mission or otherwise…The weapon she used to kill someone. "Actually Raven, I think I'm going to try some new weapons for now. It's a good idea to be trained in multiple weapons in case something happens."

"But that's not why you're hesitating." Raven shook her head. "Remember how you acted when Professor Blackwell first made us use other weapons for a week?"

"I was young…and Tai was using her. I can trust him."

"Yet you chewed him out for getting a scratch on it, then you cradled it like a baby the rest of the day."

"She's my baby…" Summer pouted.

"Exactly. You wouldn't write off one of your kids if they made one mistake." Raven shifted her grip on the blade and held it hilt first toward Summer. "You didn't for me. Why should you for this?"

Summer stared at her sword. She reached her right hand toward the hilt and grabbed on. Instantly she felt better. Raven let go of the blade and Summer pulled it toward her. She hugged her baby close. "I missed you. I didn't mean to throw you on that roof. I didn't mean that I was going to use another weapon. You're the only one for me."

"That's the Summer I know," Qrow said as he returned with a cup of fizzing water. "Surprised you haven't kissed it yet."

Summer glared at Qrow. "I'm not drunk anymore, Qrow. I know Sun's Light is just a sniper/sword, not an actual baby." Still, she stroked her weapon's sheath.

Qrow smirked. "Sure you do." He handed over the water.

Summer took it and focused on Qrow's feet as he turned away. The room brightened as she let her Aura flow. The second both of Qrow's feet touched the floor, ice grew up to his ankles, trapping him in place. "Don't insult my intelligence. You should know this by now." She downed the whole cup of water in one go.

"I didn't." Qrow's smirk turned into a full smile. "It's good to have you back, Sum."

"I don't think she's back quite yet." Tai crossed his arms as he sat on the couch. "Team mom Summer is back, but is Huntress Summer back?"

Qrow stared openly at Tai and Raven looked down from the stairs. "May God have mercy on your soul," Qrow said.

"No. He's right." Summer stood up and clipped Sun's Light and its sheath onto her belt. "I'm out of practice. I need to get back out there. Those young Beowolves keep popping up around here, right?" She set the water glass on an end table.

The rest of her team stared at her. "You want to go out now?" Qrow asked. "What about your hangover?"

"A Huntress needs to be able to fight in any condition. Her life may very well depend on it." Summer cocked her head. "Actually, the few things I do remember when I was drunk involved me kicking a few guys' butts. I think they were trying to force themselves on me."

The guys exchanged a nervous glance. "What happened to those guys?" Tai asked.

"Let's just say they'd fit in with an all-woman choir for a while, if not the rest of their lives." Summer took immense pleasure watching Tai and Qrow pale and clench their legs. "I'm just kidding…Maybe a week or two…from now."

Raven smirked on the stairs. "Wow, Sum. I didn't know you had it in you."

Summer swung her arms in front of her. "When someone's after my special bits, the gloves are off. I don't care what I have to do. They're not getting _anywhere_ close." She walked to the front door and faced everyone on her team once more. "Well, what do ya say team? One last full team hurrah before Raven's sidelined with her chick?"

"I'm not laying an egg, Sum." Raven rolled her eyes. "I'm not even going to risk birding at this point. I don't know what that could do to my baby." She paused. "But to answer your question, one last time out there would be nice. I'm not looking forward to sitting back and watching everyone else go on missions without me."

"Been a while since I've been out there myself." Qrow punched his feet free of the ice. "These Beowolves won't be much, but they're something."

"My students are heading that way in two days." Tai pushed himself off the couch. "They're getting their first Grimm combat experience. I'd like to know how concentrated the packs are."

"Works for me!" Summer ejected the magazine from Sun's Light and looked inside. It looked like only one bullet was missing. The one that…Summer shook her head. _Don't go back there, Summer. Stay happy. Don't leave again._ "I don't care if it's just young, armorless Beowolves. Load up. The second you underestimate your enemies is the second you die."

Summer walked up the stairs, nodding at Raven as she passed. She entered her room and opened her ammo drawer in her dresser. Since it was only young Beowolves, she'd save most of the high-quality magazines for later. Burn and Ice would do just fine. To be on the safe side, she also took one Lightning mag. Gravity…experimental, expensive, and overkill on pretty much everything smaller than a Deathstalker. It was better to save those for when she really needed them.

"You really feeling better, Summer?" Raven asked.

Summer turned to her doorway and saw Raven leaning in it. "Kinda, sorta, not really." She shrugged. "Something tells me when the first shot's fired my head's going to want to split in half."

"I can tell you from experience, that's exactly what's going to happen." Raven pushed herself off the doorframe. "I'm just checking you're not pushing yourself too hard."

"So the bandit's making sure the city girl doesn't hurt herself?"

"To me, you weren't a pampered city girl after you saved me and Qrow from that King Taijitu first year. Anyway, there's a difference between fighting through an injury and trying to get yourself needlessly killed. You don't need to prove yourself to any of us. Just say the word and I'm sure the other two won't mind putting this off till tomorrow."

Summer let her eyes fall. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I could take it. When it comes to Grimm, I never do." She looked at Raven and she smiled. "Besides, I have the best Huntsman team on Remnant with me. If something does happen, none of you will let anything happen to me."

Raven smirked. "Please, don't let anything happen to you again. I don't want to take orders from Qrow again."

"He is older than you." Summer punched Raven in the shoulder as she passed.

"By twelve minutes. That doesn't count." Raven shrugged and followed Summer. "Enough of this. Let's go hunting."

"I couldn't agree more!" Summer marched down the stairs, fighting her hangover wobble the whole way. "Okay team STRQ, are we ready to move out?"

"I'm always ready." Tai slid his spiked gauntlets over his wrists. "The question is, are the Grimm?"

"They're never ready for us." Qrow counted his own mags and hooked them to his belt. "They won't know what hit them."

"My blades are ready." Raven hefted her large sheath filled with two dozen Dust blades. "Let's kick some Grimm ass."

"Language…" Summer scolded, then smiled. "Okay! Let's get going!" Summer led the way out of the house. She stopped near the center of the front yard. "Raven, a portal please."

The sheath of Raven's weapon rotated. She pulled a red blade halfway out before stopping. "Uh, Sum? Last time you went through one of these, you puked up like a week's worth of food."

Summer blinked and looked at her stomach. "Great. Now I'm hungry too. Thanks for that Raven. I can take care of that when we get back."

Qrow pointed at Summer. "But if you look even slightly green when we get there, we're coming back."

"Fine with me." Summer faced Raven again. "Now, the portal?"

Raven hesitated then fully drew her blade. She turned around and swiped the air. A red and black portal hissed to life. She walked forward and stepped halfway through. The hand that didn't go through the portal stuck a thumb up. Raven's body fully disappeared into the portal.

"LZ's clear. Let's jump." Summer pointed Sun's Light toward the portal and charged forward. She jumped through the portal and into a clearing on the wild side of patch. With what Raven said earlier, Summer expected to feel woozy. If anything, her headache got worse, but not to the point of dehabilitation.

"You good?" Raven asked.

"Ask me again when the first shot's fired." Summer rubbed the side of her head. "I'm fine right now." As she spoke, she heard several Beowolf howls.

"I think we've gotten their attention," Tai said from behind Summer.

"It's still probably me." Summer shook her heads. "Haven't slain my demons quite yet. For once, you can blame me for attracting the horde."

"Okay then," Qrow started. "Summer, I blame you."

Summer rolled her whole head. "Gee, thanks Qrow." Several red eyes appeared in the trees in front of her. "Okay team. Here we go. Phalanx formation." Qrow stepped to the front and Summer and Raven took up positions on either side of him. All three of them held their swords pointing toward the eyes. Tai protected their flank.

A Beowolf that was just growing its bone armor jumped out of the trees and roared at the Huntsmen. If it didn't do that, it might have lived long enough to become an alpha. Summer flicked a switch on Sun's Light and the blade spun in the middle. The point inserted itself into the hilt and the base was now the end of a sniper barrel. A small sight popped out of the crossguard. She took aim at the Beowolf's open mouth. Her trigger finger twitched, and a Burn Dust round flew out the end of Sun's Light. A second later, the Beowolf had a new, singed hole in the back of it's throat.

The howls stopped, but the gunshot kept ringing in Summer's head. "Okay, that hurt." As far as she could tell, she wasn't seeing double or triple, so she was fine for now.

"You good, Summer?" Tai asked

"I'm not evil, if that's what you mean." More Beowolves burst from the tree line. "Affix bayonets!" Summer switched Sun's Light back to sword form. Qrow and Raven dug their feet into the ground. "Charge!"

The front line ran as one toward the incoming Grimm, each member with their own battle cry. They met the first Grimm and parted the Anima sea of Beowolves. It turns out, without the bone armor, the team's momentum carried them all the way through the pack. Summer turned around and saw Tai smacking down a few stragglers, but there were still plenty around.

"Tai! Shockwave!" Summer yelled.

Tai nodded and jumped high. He came down and punched the ground. Dirt rippled and cracked with electricity. Everyone else jumped as the wave approached them. While in the air, Summer watched all the Grimm in the clearing fall. By the time she landed, there were none left.

"Well that was easy." Raven sheathed her sword.

"No more waves?" Summer asked, straightening her back.

"There hasn't been for the past few weeks." Qrow shrugged. "We can go for a stint in the Emerald Forest if you want. There's not much out around here."

"Or we could walk back home and see if there are stragglers. There's always some of…those." Summer blinked and she looked down. Why was the ground moving beneath her? "Actually I think we should head back. I'm not well balanced right now."

"That's…not you." Raven crouched down and put a hand on the ground. "There's something big coming." She stood up and grasped her sword's hilt. "It's coming from the east, don't know if it's above or below ground."

Summer looked east and narrowed her eyes. She didn't see anything moving, but her sensitive ears picked up cracking trees and…slithering. "King Taijitu? How'd one of those get here?" She moved Sun's Light into a defensive position.

"You feeling good enough for a plan?" Tai asked. The sound of trees cracking grew louder.

"Raven, Qrow, be ready with Wingman." Summer paused. "Well, as much as you can, Raven. Tai, Javelin's right after that."

"Javelin?" Tai looked at Summer like she had two heads. "With your headache?"

"I'll be fine. We've done this a thousand times." Summer bent her knees and stared into the tree line, waiting for the Grimm to show itself. She saw something big moving in the trees. "Wingman! Go!"

Qrow jumped and turned into a bird and flew higher. Raven opened a portal in front of her and dropped into a running position. The black head of the King Taijitu burst into the clearing and roared at Tai and Summer. Qrow dove and turned back into a human, and Raven ran through her portal, appearing by her brother's side. Qrow also switched his sword into a scythe. He slashed at the snake's neck with Raven right behind. The black head fell to the ground and evaporated.

As always with this type of Grimm, there was always a second wind. The white head slithered out of the trees and roared even louder than the first. Summer locked eyes with Tai. "Javelin." She ran at her teammate and Tai retracted the spikes on his gauntlets. She jumped and spun in the air so her back faced the ground. Tai caught the center of her back and Summer stiffened her whole body. Her hood hadn't been a problem since second year.

Tai brought Summer back, then threw her forward. The world blurred, then came back into focus when Summer buried Sun's Light into one of the King Taijitu's eyes. It screamed, then Summer switched her weapon's form while it was inside the Grimm. The blade separated from the hilt as it tried to spin. With a little resistance, Sun's Light rotated and locked into position. Summer pulled the trigger and a Dust round burst out the other side of the Grimm's head.

Summer put her feet on the dying Grimm and pushed off. She back flipped and landed before the dead creature hit the ground. Summer smirked and faced her teammates. "And that's with a hangover. What can I do while completely fine?"

The rest of her team exchanged a look. "All hail the first Queen of Vale," Qrow joked.

"Thank you, my loyal subject." Summer used her best royal voice. She wobbled on her feet as her headache came back full force. "Now, escort me to my chambers. This past month has not been good for my health."

* * *

 **Just...wow...Vegas...not good at all. Hearts, minds, and prayers directed there.  
**


	5. Auntie Summer

**So, this past week, I saw a call for voice actors for the 'Yuuzahn Vong At War' mod for 'Star Wars Empire At War: Forces of Corruption.' I volunteered, so now I'm going to be the voice of the Quasar Carrier. Never done voice acting before. I can tell you from a few hours of work on them, I will not likely be a professional voice actor anytime soon. Still, I've only been told to rerecord only one line, so that's a plus!  
**

 **Also, THAT VOLUME 5 TRAILER! GET HYPED!**

 **Also also, Last Jedi tickets are on sale!**

* * *

Summer ignored the stares of various professors as she waited for her cookies to bake. Everyone in there knew she didn't work at Beacon. They also knew that she had specific permission from Headmaster Ozpin to use the staff lounge for this purpose. If they had questions, and several did, Summer just told them to speak with the Headmaster.

The timer dinged and Summer grabbed her oven mitts. She opened the oven and the smell washed over her. Even without looking at the cookies, she could tell they were baked to perfection. She pulled the cookie sheet out and placed it on top of the oven. Now a few of the professors were staring at the cookies, but they weren't getting any. These were all for Summer's 'niece.'

She picked a bag off the floor and set it on the counter. She hummed one of her favorite songs as she spatulaed every cookie into the bag. Amber would love these. She always did, and it had been too long since she had any. Not since before her mother was assassinated. Summer shook her head. Amber probably needed as many friendly faces as possible right now.

Summer picked up the bag and left the staff lounge. She walked directly toward Ozpin's tower. On the way, she thought she saw Clover walking to the airship docks. The Spring Maiden would be flying back to Mistral, where she'd disappear again for the next year, or until Ozpin summoned all the Maidens. Mary, the Summer Maiden, was probably halfway back to Atlas on her private yacht. Hopefully hiding in plain sight would continue to work for her.

Something had been irking Summer for a few days. Ozpin wouldn't let two Maidens live in the same house together, even when that house was occupied by one of the best Huntsman teams that Remnant had ever known, but it was perfectly acceptable for all four to come to Beacon for a day. Summer didn't doubt the students' capability against Grimm, but against other experienced Huntsmen, they'd be rolled over. She'd have to talk to Ozpin again about this. If Amber couldn't live in the STRQ house, maybe she could move a little bit closer.

Summer entered Beacon's tower and walked to the elevator. She pushed the up button, and for once, the elevator was at her floor. That literally never happened before in this tower, what with the main CCT floor being a few floors below Ozpin's office. She shrugged and entered. Summer held her Scroll up to the panel and the elevator rose to Ozpin's office.

A few seconds later, the car stopped and the doors opened. Ozpin sat at his desk with Amber and Cherry sitting across from him. From Summer's position, it looked like Amber's head sunk between her shoulders. Ozpin looked up from his desk and locked eyes with Summer. "Amber," he said, "there's someone here to see you."

Amber turned around in her chair, her eyes sad. But as soon as she Summer, they could have done the job for a lighthouse. "Auntie Summer!" She jumped out of her chair and ran toward her 'aunt.'

"Hey there, Amby." Summer set the bag down just outside the elevator and dropped to a knee. She held out her arms waiting for her 'adopted niece.' Amber ran into the open arms and Summer folded them around her. "It's been too long." She ran a hand through Amber's hair. Silky smooth, just as she remembered it.

"I missed you, Auntie." Amber tightened her tiny arms around Summer's neck.

"I missed you too, Amby." Summer pulled Amber off and looked her up and down. "Wait, you're too tall to be Amber. Sorry, I have you mistaken for someone else."

Amber fervently shook her head. "Nope! I'm me."

"Really?" Summer raised an eyebrow. "I'm not convinced." She leaned forward and kissed Amber on the forehead.

The expected giggles burst forth. Tiny hands tried to push Summer's head away. "Stop it! That tickles."

Summer pulled back and smiled. "Yep! I only know of one girl who thinks kisses tickle." She reached back and pulled the bag forward. "And since you are Amby, I have these for you."

Amber looked at the bag and sniffed the air. Her eyes widened even more. "Cookies!" She jerked the bag open and picked one off the top. She jammed it into her mouth and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "Yummy!" She grabbed another one and did the same. Summer's cookies had that effect on people.

After the fourth cookie disappeared, Amber stopped and looked into the bag. Her eyes teared up and her shoulders slumped. "Mommy loved these."

Summer's shoulders slumped as well. "I know." She pulled Amber into another hug and rubbed her back. "I miss her too. She was my sister." That second part wasn't technically true, but it was emotionally true. Amber would learn that when she was older. Summer's eyes flicked to Cherry and locked with hers. Summer flicked hers to Amber then back again. Cherry frowned and slowly nodded. Apparently Amber was like this a lot.

"Amber," Summer whispered, "your mommy wouldn't want to see you like this. She would want you to be happy. She would want you to show your beautiful smile wherever you go."

"It's hard." Amber buried her face in Summer's shoulder.

"I know. I lost my mommy too." Summer's eyes fell as she remembered that day. "I held her hand as she became an angel." Amber pulled her head off Summer's shoulder and looked into her adopted aunt's eyes. "It was hard, but I didn't do it alone. My friends and family helped me through it, and never left me alone when I was sad, even though some of them were halfway across Remnant.

"Amber, I can do the same for you." Summer caressed the side of Amber's head. "I don't care what time of day it is, if you need to talk with me, I'll talk for however long you need. If I don't pick up, I'm either driving or fighting monsters like your mommy did. I promise, I won't be gone for nine months like last time. I'll try and see you at least once a month."

Amber's head dipped. "Why can't I come with you?"

Summer hesitated and shot a challenging glance at Ozpin. He sighed and shook his head. Summer's glance turned into a glare, but all hostility disappeared when she faced Amber again. "It's too close to where you lived before. Some of those bad men are still out there. So right now, it's too dangerous for you to be near the city for a long time. As soon as it is, I'll come get you myself."

Amber rose her head. Her lower lip trembled. "Pinky promise?" She rose her right hand with her pinky outstretched.

Summer took that pinky with one of her own. "I promise that when it is safe, I will bring you home."

Amber's lips twitched upward. "I love you, Auntie Summer.'

"I love you too, Amby." Summer hugged Amber again and resumed rubbing her niece' back.

Cherry cleared her throat. "I'm sorry to break this up, but we have a flight to catch."

Summer nodded and peeled Amber off her. "Be good for Cherry. Next time I see you, I want to hear nothing but glowing things about you."

"I'll try."

"That's all I can ask. Now where's that famous smile?" Amber curved her lips up, but it wasn't a smile. "I don't mean that one. I mean this one!" Summer tickled Amber's sides. Amber burst out laughing and tried to push the hands away, but Summer kept up the assault. Amber fell back and tried using her feet to get Summer's hands away. That worked just about as well as her hands.

"I think that's enough, Summer," Cherry laughed as she put a hand on Summer's shoulder. "Don't make her pee her pants."

Summer withdrew her hands. "That's no fun." Amber pushed herself off the floor with a huge smile on her face. Summer returned it. _"That's_ the one I was talking about."

Cherry walked to Amber's side and reached a hand down. "Come on, Amby, let's head out." Amber took the hand and Cherry helped her up. Cherry also took the bag and walked to the elevator.

Amber faced Summer as she stepped into the elevator. "Bye bye!" She waved at her aunt.

Summer waved back. "Bye bye." The elevator doors closed. Summer waited a few seconds for the car to fall a few levels before turning to Ozpin. It was better that Amber didn't hear what was coming. "Oz, please tell me I didn't just lie to her face."

Ozpin sighed. "You know the rules, Summer. No two Maidens may live in the same house."

"For when the Maidens know what they're capable of and they've used their power, yes. Amber doesn't know any of that stuff. And I have nothing against Cherry, and it didn't look like Amber did either, but she's not Amber's family. There's a huge difference."

"Summer," Ozpin sounded sympathetic, but he wasn't backing down, "you know very well what happened last time two Maidens lived together."

"My mom randomly became the Winter Maiden, I know. But neither Winter nor Spring were Huntresses. Amber isn't there and I don't know if she ever will be, but you and several other people in power have said team STRQ is one of the strongest Remnant's ever seen, and that's without me using everything I got. We can protect her."

"If the assassins that killed Scarlet were working for a gang or one of the tribes, I would agree with you." Ozpin sighed. "But they weren't. They were _hers."_

Summer blinked. "Salem?"

"Yes. They could lie to the police investigators, but not to me. Unfortunately for her, the ones she sent refused to kill a child."

Summer sighed. "So low visibility in her case _is_ a really good idea." She shook her head. "I know normally waiting until she turns eighteen is a good idea to tell her about her powers, but in this case, I think we should tell her what she is. I know what you're going to say, it's a bad idea, and it'll attract unwanted attention, but you saw her." Summer gestured toward the elevator. "Anything that reminds her of her mom torments her. It doesn't need to. She has her mom in her head. I believe Scarlet is more than capable of keeping Amber's Aura in control…Besides, we don't know how long Scarlet is going to stay in Amber's head. She might not last until Amber's eighteen."

"I have already considered this, and I have looked into what has been done in the past. It was hit or miss on whether the new Maiden lived a normal life or whether they used their powers in the wrong situations at too young an age. And in almost all situations, the girl was confused. Having two minds active in one so young, it doesn't end well."

"Okay…" Summer shook her head. "So how long do we wait? The sooner the-"

"Summer," Ozpin interrupted, "it won't be any time soon. Amber needs to mature. By the time it is safe to tell her, we might as well wait until she turns eighteen." Summer dipped her head and crossed her arms. "I know you want to help Amber. I do too, but what she needs is not what she wants."

"I suppose there's no way of convincing you otherwise?"

"No." Ozpin shook his head. "I see no other way."

"There's always another way. If I figure it out, I'll tell you. Is there anything else you had for me?"

"No. That will be all Summer. Give my regards to your team."

With that, Summer waited for the elevator to return. No need to make a mess of rose petals in Ozpin's office. After about a minute the elevator returned and Summer stepped in. She returned to ground level and proceeded to the parking lot. It had been too long since she got out for a good ride, and from the feel of it, her motorcycle thought so too.

Bumblebee sat alongside several other student motorcycles, and in Summer's rather biased opinion, outshone all of them. The motorcycle was the one thing she splurged on with her Huntress income. She had no regrets at the time…then she learned that while Huntsmen bore allegiance to no Kingdom, they still had to pay taxes while they lived in them. Still, this was the one thing she didn't have to share with her team.

Before she picked her helmet off the seat, Summer checked her Scroll. She'd had it on silent from when she was meeting with Ozpin the first time through talking with Amber. She might have missed something. It turned out there were quite a few calls from Tai and Qrow. Did something happen back home?

She punched in Tai's number and held her Scroll to her ear. It rang five times before going to Tai's voicemail. Summer bit her lip and sat on Bumblebee. This couldn't be good. She called Qrow, hoping he would pick up.

This time, Qrow answered before the first ring ended. _"Summer! Where have you been?"_

"I've been in with Ozpin," Summer defended. "Qrow, what's up?"

" _Raven's been in labor for three hours. Get to Vale General as soon as possible."_ The line clicked.

 _Labor…Baby…Raven's having her baby._ A huge smile broke out on Summer's face. "Raven's having her baby!" she cheered while jumping on her bike. She stopped and looked at what she was sitting on, then at her parking permit. It actually expired five minutes ago. She couldn't leave Bumblebee here and teleport, but she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible…At least hospitals had free parking.

Summer slammed her Scroll back into a pocket and pulled her open front helmet over her head. She kicked Bumblebee on and into gear then sped out of Beacon's parking lot. Normally police didn't patrol the road between Beacon and Vale and there weren't any speed cameras along it either. But after all her years at Beacon as a student and as a guest demonstrator, this was the first Summer allowed herself to partake on the Beacon Speedway.

Now _this_ is why Summer had an open front helmet. She loved feeling the wind on her face and a little bit in her hair. No helmet at all would be better, but she wasn't suicidal. Even people with the strongest Auras were still killed in car accidents. Summer checked her speed. A hundred and fifty miles an hour and still climbing. Maybe she should look into getting time on Vale's actual racetrack. This was freaking _awesome!_

Summer rounded a corner and saw a couple of other motorcycle racers in the center of the road and they had regular crotch rockets, not a supercharged one like Bumblebee. Time to make those guys question their manliness. Summer pulled up alongside them. Both helmetless riders looked at Summer and their jaws dropped. Summer waved, then sped past them. She loved beating guys at what they thought were guy things. Tai and Qrow weren't fun like that anymore…They learned quick.

But Summer's fun came to an end too soon. She rounded the last corner and a crossroads came into view. She pulled back on the throttle and slowed down. Zero to sixty was fine and all, but sixty to zero is what really mattered. Bumblebee couldn't quite stop on a dime, but he could stop a lot sooner than those crotch rockets she passed a mile back.

As she came to stop at the light, Summer thought of the quickest way to Vale General. Third was under construction, Main was always jammed, Winter avenue had a major wreck earlier…Fifth over to Cruz to Fourteenth to General avenue.

Summer turned right and moved with the flow of traffic. Of course, the one thing she couldn't predict were the stop lights. Every single intersection she came to, the light was red. Why wouldn't these things let her through? _Every time_ she had to be somewhere in a hurry, the lights worked together to stop her. Why couldn't they cooperate just this once?

After way too long, Summer pulled into the hospital's parking ramp. She found a spot near the skyway to the hospital proper. She turned off Bumblebee and ran across the skyway. The receptionist on the other side looked up like nothing was out of the ordinary. She probably saw this all the time. "Welcome to Vale General. How may I help you?"

Summer slammed her hands on the desk. "My best friend's giving birth here. Where is she?"

The receptionist hit a few things on her keyboard. "What's her name?"

"Raven Branwen." Summer shook her head. How'd she forget to say Raven's name?

"Let's see here." The receptionist busied herself on her keyboard. "It looks like the delivery was successful. She's been moved to room M334." She stood up and pointed down the hall to the right. "You're going to want to go down that hall. You'll pass three more before you see a sign labeled 'Maternity Ward.' You'll take the second staircase you pass, climb up one floor, take a right, then the rooms will be marked with 'M's. I'll let you figure out where 334 is."

"Thank you so much!" Summer pulled the receptionist over the counter and into a hug. She released the poor woman and ran down the hall. Thankfully, no doctors or patients blocked her path. She almost ran past the mentioned hallway, but she did slam into one of its walls. Summer made sure she didn't knock anything off before continuing. She would teleport, but the janitors here had enough to clean up already.

Summer came to the right staircase and practically flew up them. She burst into another hallway and looked to the right. Qrow was standing outside a room looking at his Scroll. "Qrow!" Summer called, though not loud enough to carry through the walls and doors…hopefully.

Qrow looked up. "Twenty minutes. What took you so long?"

"I had Bumblebee. Couldn't leave him at Beacon." Summer jogged over to Qrow and looked at the room number. She smiled and covered her mouth with a few fingers. "They're in here?"

"Yeah, they are." Qrow sighed. "But I need you to do something first." He reached into his jacket and pulled out…

"A breathalyzer?" Summer's shoulders slumped. "I thought she trusted me."

"She does, but you know your agreement. Stay sober, and you get to be the baby's godmother. If not, that's up in the air."

"Qrow, I've been sober for months."

"I know that, you know that, but does this?" Qrow stuck the breathalyzer out to Summer.

Summer narrowed her eyes. Something about the way Qrow said that…the breathalyzer was either fake or rigged. If it showed anything other than zero, it was fine. She sighed and took the thing. "Fine." Summer breathed into the tube. Nothing came up right away and she handed it back to Qrow.

He hit something else and made a fake sounding gasp. "One-point-oh. Summer, how are you alive?"

"Practice." Summer smirked. "I've actually been drunk for the past three months. Couldn't tell, could you?"

"Really? Well then," Qrow put the rigged breathalyzer back into his jacket, "we'll just keep this between us."

"And that's why you're my second in command." Summer pushed past Qrow and crouched down. She held her breath as she slowly opened the door. Raven wore a hospital gown and her hair was a mess, but Summer had never seen such a joyful smile on her partner's face. Tai stood just to the side, looking down with a similar expression on his face.

In Raven's arms lay a beautiful little bundle of joy. She wasn't even making a sound. Her little head lolled to the side. The prettiest lilac eyes stared back at Summer. A big smile broke out on the small face and she reached out toward Summer.

Raven looked up from her baby girl to Summer. She pet the top of the baby's head. "Yang, say hi to your Auntie Summer." Yang let out a squeal of happiness.

"Hi, Yang." Summer gave the baby girl a fingers only wave. She crouch walked over to the bed and peeked over at the baby. Yang gurgled and a little bit of spit came out of her mouth.

Raven used the hospital blanket to wipe the spit up. "Careful, Yang. Don't dirty yourself."

Summer smiled at her partner. She'd never seen Raven so gentle. She faced Yang again and reached out a hand to rub the baby's head. "She's beautiful. She's perfect." Summer smirked and faced the new parents. "How'd that happen?"

Raven shot Summer a weak glare and Tai just laughed. "I think that gene skips a generation. Yang must have got it from my mom." He pasued. "Wait, did _you_ just say _perfect?"_

"I did, and I meant it." Summer giggled and turned her attention back to the cutie in front of her. "Can I hold her?"

The arms holding Yang tightened their grip. "She's not comfortable with others yet. She cried the whole time when the nurses took her to get cleaned and when Qrow held her."

"It's my Semblance, Rae," Qrow said from behind Summer. "Kids don't like it."

Summer turned her head to face Qrow. "You can turn into a bird, and you _still_ think your Semblance is bad luck. One of those things doesn't exist." Summer faced Raven once more and put on her best puppy dog face. It never worked before, but now that Raven had a kid… "Can I please hold her, Rae?"

Raven blinked then looked down at Yang. She smiled and nodded. "You are the best with kids."

"Thank you." Summer stood up and held her arms out. Raven relaxed her grip on Yang and held her up. Yang gurgled again and looked at her mom, then to Summer. Her smile disappeared her lower lip trembled.

"Don't cry," Summer soothed. She gently took Yang in her arms and cradled her. "I'm nice, and I'm your mommy's best friend, well, besides your daddy." She rocked baby Yang from side to side. Yang's big eyes locked onto Summer's face. Her lower lip stopped trembling and the corners curved upward. She gurgled happily and wiggled in Summer's arms. "I think she likes me." Summer raised her arms and lowered her head to kiss Yang on the forehead. Yang giggled and wiggled even more.

"Don't steal my baby from me," Raven scolded, her eyes narrowed.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Summer gave Yang back to Raven. "She's yours, and she likes you better." As if understanding, Yang cooed and snuggled into Raven's chest.

"I think that's the first time someone's liked me better than you right off the bat." Raven cupped the back of Yang's head and gently moved it closer to her heart. She smirked up at Summer. "Does this make me team mom now?"

"For now." Summer rested her chin on Raven's bed. "Let's see how good of a mommy you are first."

Raven chuckled. "Team mom is fine, Sum."

"But…" Summer purposefully trembled her lower lip, "why is Yang the only one who can call you that?"

"Because she is my actual daughter." Raven took her eyes off Summer and smiled down at Yang. "Plus, I'm pretty sure she's going to call me mama first." Raven winced.

"Okay mama!" Summer closed her eyes, smiled, and cocked her head.

Raven groaned, but Tai and Qrow laughed. "You walked right into that one, Rae." Tai said.

"I knew it right after I said it." Raven sighed and laid back on her pillow. "I know it may be hard to believe, but I'm exhausted right now. Pushing a baby out is _not_ easy. I want to take a nice long nap."

"Oh! Of course. Sorry." Summer stood up slowly and backed away. "I'll let you sleep."

"You're not the one I'm worried about." Raven glared at Qrow. "Someone can't keep quiet to save his life."

Qrow shook his head. "I should actually head back home. Me in a hospital…Not a good idea."

"You're a bird, Qrow." Summer grabbed Qrow's arm and dragged him out of the room. "What did Raven do to you as a kid that made you think that your Semblance is bad luck?"

* * *

 **It's refreshing to write fluffy every once and a while.  
**


	6. The Letter

**So, that Yang short. EEEE! I've been waiting for a Ruby/Yang sparring session for forever! Also with Yang teaching Ruby unarmed combat! So cute! Yang! Get to Ruby ASAFP! You two need a happy reunion!**

 **Vol 5 comes out for RT site members today. It's not a paid membership like FIRST, so anyone can sign up and watch it now. Either way, I won't be able to write my reaction to what's going on until it's up on Youtube because of how early I upload. So from this point in time, if I spoil something in a reaction, not my fault.**

* * *

Raven opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of her room. She let her head fall to the side and looked out the window. It was…bright outside. The only sound came from the air conditioning and the shower running. She blinked and looked at the clock. Eight-thirty…Did Yang actually sleep through the night? That would be a first. That, or Tai or Summer did the work for her.

She let her head drift back to her pillow and sighed. This was nice. Raven debated whether trying to sleep for another two hours. It had literally been months since she had a full night's sleep. Her little jerk in the next room over saw to that. Raven loved Yang to death, but she couldn't wait for her to get to sleep on her own.

But Yang needed to get a solid sleep schedule going if she ever was going to grow. Raven pushed herself out of bed and got dressed. She left her room and slowly pushed Yang's door open. Raven heard sound coming from Yang's crib, but she wasn't crying. If anything, she sounded confused.

"Yaaang," Raven sung. The sounds from the crib stopped. Raven walked over to it and peeked her head over the side. Yang stared up at her with those beautiful lilac eyes. "Good morning, Firecracker." Yang smiled and giggled up at her mom.

Raven picked Yang up out of her crib and held her close. "You slept well last night. That, or I slept like a rock." Raven shifted all of Yang's weight to one of her arms, then booped Yang's nose, drawing out one of Yang's now famous giggles. "I don't know which is more likely."

She rocked Yang from side to side as she left the nursery. This had become routine. Raven would rock Yang as she walked her through the house on the way to the kitchen. She typically bottle fed Yang. Breastfeeding didn't work well for either of them.

This morning, Summer was in the kitchen as well. She was looking at her Scroll while eating a bowl of Corporal Crunch. For once, she wasn't smiling. Whenever Summer wasn't at least half attempting to smile, things were not okay. She looked up from her cereal and her frown almost literally turned upside down. "Hi, Yang." She stood up and ran a hand through Yang's short blonde hair. "Your hair is so soft." Summer's eyes jumped up. "Oh hi, Rae. I didn't see you there."

"Yeah, yeah." Raven walked to the fridge and pulled out a fresh bottle of milk. "What were you looking at back there?"

Summer scowled. "Qrow was right. This Jacques guy is a jerk. Raised the price of Dust and cut workers, most of them were Faunus. And now, he's parading his newest daughter around like she's a trophy." Summer shook her head. "Poor Weiss. She's not growing up in the best family. At least Winter appears to be nice."

"People on the top act like they know and have everything." Raven shook her head as she aimed the bottle at Yang's mouth. The baby girl took the tip in her mouth and drank happily. "My tribe got that right."

"Not everyone," Summer defended. "Nicholas wasn't like that, and neither is Ozpin."

"That we know of. Oz may share with us more than anyone else, but unless he tells you a lot more than me, he's either keeping a lot of secrets, or he's hiding how much he doesn't know."

"No one knows everything, Raven." Summer's tone became more serious. "Anyone who has half a brain knows that."

"Which is why we get along. You don't pretend to be someone or something you aren't." Raven sat down with Yang on her lap. "Heck, everyone on Patch wears their hearts on their sleeves. I'll take this over city people any day."

Summer continued to stare at Raven, then shrugged. "You got something there. City people are crazy. Then again, who wouldn't be after living in glorified sardine cans for so long?"

"We were at Beacon."

"That was temporary, and we moved up to the nicer dorms halfway through second year."

Raven gave a sideways nod. "Those were nice."

"Until we moved here, and I wouldn't want to go back now." Summer sighed and returned her Scroll to a pocket. "Bumblebee's been running hot lately. I'm going to see if I can find what's wrong with it."

"That's what you get for buying the newest model. They break down if they get a speck of dirt on them."

"That's why I'm probably going to redo the entire engine at some point." Summer stood up and made for the front door. "That and the tires. I would _love_ to not worry about going above ten miles an hour off road."

"That would be nice around here. Good luck." Raven picked up one of Yang's hands and waved it for her daughter. Summer's smile returned and she waved back at Yang. She managed to open the door behind her without turning around.

Summer wasn't outside for a minute before she returned with a bunch of envelopes. "Mail's early today. Looks like more of the usual, except you got something." Summer set an envelope in front of Raven without a return address.

"Did Qrow get something too?"

"Hold on." Summer flipped through the rest of the mail. "Nope just you." She paused as she set the mail on the table. "You think it's your tribe?"

Raven hesitated then shook her head. "It could be anyone. Could be that creepy guy to stared at me in class all the dang time, that _wasn't_ Tai."

Summer shivered. "You weren't the only one he ogled. If it is, let me know. I've got some friends in the VPD. They might be able to sort him out."

"I might do it myself." Raven sighed. "I'll let you know. You go work on your motorcycle."

"Twist my arm why don't ya?" Summer left the kitchen then the house again.

Raven slid a finger under the folds of the envelope to open it. She pulled out a bunch of…pictures…of Yang. Raven narrowed her eyes. She didn't have anything developed, did she? There were a bunch on a disposable camera in her room, but she didn't think she took them to Bullseye to get them developed. Oh well. Tai must have taken a bunch of these. Raven was in most of them with Yang in some fashion. They all turned out really well, except for the white bar running down at least one spot on all of them…

Wait…That wasn't a development error. That was a window frame. They could only have that if taken from outside. Raven's eyes widened and she looked out the kitchen window. Someone had been spying on her. She flipped through the rest of the pictures. All of them had the window frame to some degree. Yang was in absolutely all of them.

The last one was a kid Raven didn't know, but he had a single ear on his head with no stump on the other side. A bloody line was carved across his neck. Raven turned the square over. There was a note written on the back. 'This is the brat of the last bitch that hurt us. Continue to fight, your 'Firecracker' will join this one.'

They found her. The Nevermores finally found her. Her jaw dropped and she looked down to Yang. Her baby girl's eyes had teared up and her lower lip trembled. There was no way she could know what was in the envelope, but she must have known what her mom was feeling.

Those…bastards threatened her Firecracker, her little Yang. They just painted a target the size of Sanus on the backs of their heads. _No one_ threatened her family and lived…the problem was the Nevermores could do it. At the second place she hit, she faced a Huntsman that could have given _Summer_ a run for her money. Raven still didn't know how she came out on top. If they had more, and they probably did…

 _Okay, Raven. Think._ Raven leaned her head back as she pet Yang's head. Option one, take out the Nevermores completely and quickly. Positives, the Nevermores would be gone and they'd never hurt anyone again. Negatives, if she didn't do it in one day, the Nevermores would attack. Option two, do as they say and stop attacking. Positives, no repercussions from the Nevermores. Negatives, she couldn't help any more kids out of those hell holes.

Raven clenched her eyes. There had to be another way. Summer always said there was. What was that way here? She didn't know how long she thought about it, but something finally came to her. Leave here, keep fighting. Positives, Yang would be safe and she'd be able to keep on hurting the Nevermores as opportunities presented themselves. Negatives…not being able to see Yang, quite possibly for a long time.

No, that couldn't be it either. There was no way she could leave Yang without a mother. But the more Raven thought about it, Yang _wouldn't_ be motherless. Summer adored Yang, and never complained when Yang threw up or otherwise made a mess on her hood. Anybody else, they'd have Sun's Light to their necks in seconds. But…no. Yang wasn't Summer's daughter, she was Raven's. There had to be some other way. Summer always found something, Raven could too.

But at the same time she was thinking this, Raven stood up and held Yang close to her chest. She fought back tears as her legs carried her against her will. Why was she doing this? She couldn't leave Yang like this. There had to be something she could do.

Raven pushed open the door to Yang's room. She walked over to Yang's crib and set Yang down. Yang looked up at her mom, with a confused look in her eyes. This had never happened before. So much for keeping any routine. Raven leaned forward and kissed Yang on the forehead. "Remember this face, Yang. Your mommy loves you so much. I'll be back when I can. Be good for your daddy, Auntie Summer and Uncle Qrow." Her own lips trembled and she kissed Yang again. "I love you Firecracker…See you later."

She stood up and left the room. The door closed silently behind her. Raven's shoulders slumped and she leaned against the door. _What am I doing? This is terrible! There has to be some other way!_ But she pushed herself away from the door and stumbled downstairs. The shower had stopped, probably had been for a while. Qrow only showered at night, so it had to be Tai. Just the one Raven needed to see.

Raven walked downstairs. Sure enough, Tai stood in the center of the living room holding his Scroll toward the projector. He turned to Raven as she made it to the base of the stairs. "Hey, Rae. Sleep well?"

Raven marched up to him. There was no going back now. "Fuck you, Taiyang!"

* * *

Summer brought an arm to her forehead and stopped just short of wiping it across. It was probably filthy with lubricant and Burn Dust. She lowered the arm and saw that was exactly the case. She shrugged and walked to the sink she installed in the shed for just this reason. As far as she knew, she fixed Bumblebee's overheating problem. Now to take him out for a test drive.

She dried her hands and arms and grabbed her helmet and hood from where they hung. With her trademark cloak around her shoulders, Summer straddled Bumblebee and walked him out of the shed. After this, her next project would be the off road modifications. She'd lose speed on road, but riding offroad would make more sense than walking or running.

Just as Summer was about to kick on the engine, the front door of the house burst open. Raven ran out and made for the trees, her weapon at her hip. Summer tensed. The way she was running, there had to be something going on somewhere. Summer dismounted and put her helmet on Bumblebee's seat. She pulled Sun's Light's sheath off where is was secured to Bumblebee.

Before Summer could take two steps toward her partner, Tai burst out of the house. "Raven!" he yelled. "What's wrong?"

Summer jogged over to her teammate. "Tai, what's going on?"

Tai ran his hands through his hair, his lips not sure if they were grimacing or not. "She basically told me I could go eff myself and ran off. I don't know what's in her head this time. She's never said anything like that before."

Summer's heart dropped. "I can think of something. I'll go after her. You make sure Yang's okay." She ran into the trees after her partner. What was in that envelope she got? Did her tribe find her?

As she ran, Summer picked out signs that Raven passed by. Charred cuts in the trees, deliberately broken branches…Raven was leaving a trail. She wouldn't be doing that if she was trying to run. There weren't any sign of Grimm, so Raven couldn't have gotten into a fight.

The trail led Summer to one of her favorite spots on Patch, a cliff overlooking more of the forest. Raven stood at the edge, one hand on the hilt of her sword, the other on a Nevermore mask, the one she took from her tribe. Summer tightened her grip on Sun's Light. "Raven, you know I can't let you go back to them."

Raven turned her head slightly. "Were you followed? And I don't mean Tai or Qrow."

"Yang's three months old. She couldn't follow you if she wanted."

Raven tensed up. "I'm not an idiot. I don't mean her."

Summer blinked. Did Raven's voice crack on 'her?' She turned around and looked into the trees. There was no movement whatsoever, not even from the weak breeze. "No one followed me, Raven. It's just you and me here."

"Good." Raven's shoulders slumped and she dropped her mask. She turned around to reveal…tears running down her cheeks. This was a first. "Summer, help me…"

Again, this caught Summer by surprise. Raven almost never asked for help unless it was for a mission. Summer took her hand off her weapon. "Raven, what's going on?"

"This!" Raven reached into her jacket and pulled out a few white rectangles. "Look at these!" She turned them around and marched toward Summer.

Summer looked at the pictures of Yang. "I don't see the pro…blem." Her eyes widened as she realized what the white bars down the center were. "Those aren't from inside the house." She whipped around and grabbed Sun's Light again. This time Summer searched for anything that looked unnatural, a camera or otherwise. Nothing glinted in the early morning sunlight, but that didn't mean anything.

"They found me Summer," Raven sobbed. Summer once again faced her partner. "The Nevermores found me. They know who I am. They know where I live. They…" Raven's throat visibly constricted. "They know about Yang."

"Raven," Summer put her hands on her partner's shoulders, "we can protect her. She is probably the safest baby in Remnant living in our house. The only way she could be safer is if we kept her in the vault under Beacon."

"…You think Ozpin would let us raise her there?"

"You're worrying too much. There's no way-"

"Am I?" Raven interrupted. "You haven't seen these people. They have Huntsmen that can give us a run for our money. I've seen their records. They have some big guns, and the Lien to keep them maintained and stocked. The Nevermores aren't a north side street gang. They're on par with some of the old drug cartels. Heck, I'm pretty sure they do some of that too."

"If you're worried, we'll move. Ozpin knows people."

"Didn't Ozpin help us get this place?" Raven gestured back toward the house. "Who says any place else is safe? Who says they can't find us anywhere else?"

"Raven, what are you saying?"

"I need to leave, Sum." Raven hugged herself and turned around. "None of you are safe."

"Odds are they aren't prepared for me. You've heard how Maidens ended large battles in seconds before we went into hiding. I can do that too."

"And what if you're not around? What if Qrow is the only one around. And don't give me that crap about how his Semblance isn't bad luck. You may not believe in bad luck, but most people do."

"You asked for help! That's what I'm trying to do."

"Then figure out something that makes sure the Nevermores can't find me or Yang! Please!" Raven's knees shook. "All I got right now is to make them think I want nothing to do with Tai and Yang. They'll be safe and I can keep on going after the Nevermores."

"Raven, no." Summer fervently shook her head. "Yang needs you. You can't go away."

"You don't think I know that?" Raven fell to her knees. "I don't want to leave my baby girl. She needs a mom."

Summer took a knee and put a hand on her partner's shoulder. "She has one. Come home with me, tell Tai you're sorry, and cuddle Yang on your bed all day."

Raven grabbed Summer's arm. "Sum, please look after my little Firecracker."

"No. You're her mom. Not me. Be there for her and-"

"Summer, please!" Raven locked her overly red eyes with Summer's. "I need to hear you say it."

Summer looked deep into her partner's eyes and her shoulders slumped. Raven had her mind made up, and it was easier to convince rocks to be a soft landing spot than to change Raven's mind when it was set on something. Nothing Summer said would have made any difference. She slowly took her hand off Raven's shoulder and ran her arm through the hand that held it. Two hands ended up in a tight embrace. "Raven Branwen, I will look after Yang Xiao Long like she was my own."

Raven sighed. "Thank you, Summer."

"I will play along with this, on _one_ condition." Summer held up her index finger on her opposite hand.

"Name it." Raven nodded like a begging dog.

"When you're able, you come back. You and I will tell Tai exactly what's going on right now. Hopefully Yang will still be too young to understand what's going on. Speaking of Yang, when you're back, you will spoil her, kiss her, and cuddle her until she doesn't want it anymore. And that's an order. Do I make myself clear?"

Raven blinked and gave Summer the smallest of smirks. "I think that was two conditions."

"Do I make myself clear?" Summer asked again, tightening her grip on Raven's hand.

"Crystal, ma'am." Raven nodded.

"Good." Summer pulled Raven into a hug which was eagerly returned. "I love you, Raven. You've been like a sister to me from the beginning."

"Even when I treated you like a dumb city girl during initiation?"

"…Okay, not the beginning, beginning, but soon after that."

"I guess I have to say the same…though it's a little weird with you being a sister and team mom."

Summer shook her head. "You and Qrow, always trying to make this whole thing weird." She removed herself from Raven's arms and searched the trees. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. "Well, if you want to disappear, might as well make it believeable." She stood up and drew Sun's Light. "One last spar?"

Raven stood up and retreated to where she dropped her mask. She picked it up and fit it over her face. "Why would we spar?" Raven faced Summer, every emotion hidden behind the Grimm. "You mean nothing to me. No, this is a fight."

"Don't do this, Raven." Summer spread her legs and held Sun's light in front of her. "You know you can't beat me."

"Is that so?" Raven drew her own sword. "How would a city girl be able to best one who grew up outside the Kingdoms?"

"Very carefully." Summer paused. "I don't want to hurt you, Raven."

"Of course you don't. You're weak. You don't have the strength to do what needs to be done."

"So you agree this is what needs to be done!"

Summer thought she could see a smile break out behind Raven's mask. "Stop talking." Raven ran forward and slashed at Summer, who caught it effortlessly on the center of Sun's Light. Despite Raven's words, her attack was only at sparring strength, maybe weaker. "Kick my ass," Raven whispered. "Make them scared of you."

"Will do," Summer whispered back. She pushed her partner away and swiped at Raven's right arm. Raven would have had trouble blocking that if she wasn't faking it. Now, it caught her right in the side and sent her sprawling. "Raven, I am taking you back to your daughter, and you are going to care for her like a good mother should."

"The whelp can't even crawl." Raven pushed herself off the ground. "Your way made her weak. She'll never be as strong as she could be."

"Without my way, you'd be six feet under somewhere, or does your tribe even bury people?"

"Cremation only for those who died in combat against Huntsmen or large Grimm. I would have been hailed as a hero." Raven charged again and tried a backhand swing.

Summer teleported away from the strike and behind Raven. She kicked her partner down. "And I love you as a sister. Where I'm from, that matters more than however many admirers you have."

"Then you know nothing." Raven kicked her legs around and knocked Summer's feet out from under her. Summer fell to the ground and Raven was on top of her in a heartbeat. The edge of her blade sat inches from Summer's neck. "This is what strength is. Strength in numbers is fine, but strength of the individual wins battles."

"Did you learn nothing at Beacon?" Summer teleported a few feet above Raven. She summersaulted in the air and Sun's Light struck just to the side of Raven's spine. Raven fell to the ground in a heap. "Strength means nothing if you don't know how to use it." Summer let go of her weapon with one hand and grabbed one of Raven's ears with it. "Raven Branwen, you are coming with me, and you are going to apologize to your husband and your baby girl."

Raven grabbed Summer's hand and twisted it. Summer gasped and dropped Sun's Light. That actually freaking _hurt!_ Something about a broken arm not healing right before she unlocked her Aura. "Sorry, Sum." Raven whispered. She through her partner to the side and stood up. "Pathetic." She kicked Sun's Light further away. "You have saved my life more times than I can count. I will spare yours this once. Don't follow me."

She turned around and slashed the air. One of her portals opened up and she stepped though. Summer lunged for the portal but it closed just before she could enter, at least that's what she hoped it looked like. She punched the dirt and stood up. Raven could be anywhere within ten miles. But if Summer didn't know where her partner was, no one would be able to.

Summer picked up Sun's Light and walked back toward the house. She thought she saw a lens flare from a high-end camera or a sniper scope. Her instincts told her to ambush whoever that was and remove the threat to STRQ...well, minus the R anyway, but she needed to keep this charade going.

She slowly made her way back to the house. Summer rubbed her wrist where Raven twisted it. She'd need to get Raven back at some point, but that could be a long time from now. Raven would have a lot to answer for, mostly in giving her beautiful daughter lots of hugs and kisses.

After a while, the house came back into view. Tai no longer stood outside. If history repeated itself, Tai was pacing in the living room. Summer walked through the front door and saw that was the case. Tai turned to Summer with his hands in his hair. "Well?"

Summer shook her head. "She's gone. In more ways than one." She took a seat on the couch. "That wasn't the same Raven that we've known. She's gone back to the bandits."

Tai's shoulders dropped. "What? I thought she hated them."

"So did I. But she got an unmarked letter in the mail today, then she went ballistic."

"Why didn't we see this coming?" Tai shook his head, then snapped it upstairs. "Yang." He ran up the stairs, taking three steps at a time. Summer followed with fake urgency. From her conversation with Raven, Yang was perfectly fine. She looked into Yang's room and saw Tai cradling his baby girl in his arms.

"You sure you don't know why Raven ran?" Summer slowly approached her teammate.

Tai shook his head. "Everything was going so well. Things were looking up even since Raven found out she was pregnant."

Summer turned her gaze to Yang. The poor girl was only a few months old and she already lost her mother. Summer approached Tai's side and brushed Yang's growing golden hair. "Tai, I don't know if I can ask this, if it's too soon, or what have you…but Yang needs a mother figure." Tai's eyes snapped to Summer and he looked her up and down. "You say the word, I'll back off."

Tai once again returned his attention to Yang. He stayed silent for a long time, simply rocking Yang. After what felt like an eternity, Tai sighed. "She does like you. I think you've been promoted."

Summer gave Tai a light smile and held her arms out toward Yang. Tai slowly handed his daughter to his teammate. Yang gurgled in protest and wiggled between the two people's arms. Summer held Raven's baby close to her chest. Yang's eyes met Summer's and stopped struggling. A smile burst onto her face and she cooed happily. She reached her tiny arms up toward Summer's face. "Hi, Yang. I guess you're going to be seeing a lot more of me from now on."

* * *

 **Raven's gone, Summer's in. Hopefully there's slightly less hate toward her...Also, keep in mind this whole Raven thing was thought out when I still had hope there was more to her than being a jerkface...  
**


	7. Stand-In Mom

**So...Chapter 1...(insert squeal here) OH MY GOSH! The hype is real. Good to see Weiss cares about people, Blake still doing what she needs to, Ruby still being the cinnamon roll and mediator, and Yang still kicking butt...and her PTSD wasn't forgotten. I was actually worried about that. No offense to Yang, but no one comes back from that easily. Best intro yet to. So much action, so many promises. Oh, and that new Maiden information...Thanks Rooster Teeth. Another thing I've got come up with a somewhat believable reason for...  
**

 **I'm assuming most people who are reading this also read A Rose's Scales and Reversal. I normally don't do this but...on Saturday, I got a PM from** **silverhawk88 saying he commissioned a piece of art for A Rose's Scales. My gosh, it's beautiful. Does this happen a lot? I know authors commission pieces all the time, I didn't think their fans did so too. Since I can't post links here, just type 'Ruby and Cerise' or 'manu-chann'** **into the search bar on Deviantart. I'll probably be posting it on a few dragon and RWBY Facebook pages in the next few days as well. A big thank you to silverhawk88 for commissioning the piece and manu-chann for doing an amazing job.  
**

* * *

Summer got down on her knees and leaned forward. She patted the ground in front of her. "Come on, Yang. Come here." Across the carpet, Yang put one hand in front of the other, then one knee jerked forward. The opposite of each arm and leg moved forward as well. Slowly but surely, Yang crawled across the carpet toward Summer.

"That's it, Yang! You can do it!" Summer patted the carpet harder. If babies could have a look of determination on her face, Yang managed it. Her eyes were laser focused on Summer's moving hand. She picked up speed and didn't wobble at all. "Come on Yang, come on." Yang picked up even more speed, and her eyes widened.

She reached where Summer was patting and looked up. Her beautiful lilac eyes locked with Summer's and lit up like a lighthouse. Yang giggled and fell back on her diapered bottom. She reached her arms up toward Summer and repeatedly opened and closed her fingers.

Summer returned the smile, but didn't know who's was bigger. "Okay. You've earned it." She wrapped her hands around Yang's sides and lifted her up. "Who's my big girl?" Summer held Yang close to her chest and winced. _Raven's big girl. Not my big girl. RAVEN'S._

Yang wrapped her tiny arms around Summer's neck. She nuzzled her head against there as well. Summer rubbed Yang's back. She thought she heard Yang mumble something. "What was that?" She pulled Yang away and looked directly into Yang's eyes. Her… _Raven's_ baby girl had been trying to speak for a few days now. If only Tai was back from Signal. He would want to hear Yang's first word.

"Mmmmm…mmmaaaaa…mama." Yang's eyes lit up and her already large smile widened. "Mama! Mama!"

In the back of her head, Summer knew she'd want to be called mama someday. But not from Yang. Summer felt like her heart was stabbed with each word. Yang thought Summer was her mom, not Raven. But Summer couldn't let her pain show…or let Yang know that she _wasn't_ her mama. "Good job, Phoenix." Summer kissed Yang on the forehead. "I'm proud of you Phoenix."

Summer stood up and brought Yang to the kitchen. She set Raven's baby girl in her high chair and tied a bib around her neck. Summer grabbed some baby food from a cabinet and a spoon from a drawer. She sat down next to Yang and loaded the spoon. "Here comes the airship." She made airship noises with her mouth and moved the spoon all over the place. Summer originally thought this was something that only worked on CCT shows, but it worked for Yang.

The baby's eyes never left the food as it approached. Before Summer was ready to give it to Yang, the girl's head jutted forward and her mouth clamped around the spoon. She pulled her head back leaving nothing on it. Her face showed no regrets. However, Summer wasn't as pleased. She'd heard horror stories of babies choking on their food if they ate too fast. Yang wouldn't be one of those babies. Summer stuck a finger a few inches from Yang's face. "Yang, no. You don't do that. You wait for the food to come to you."

Yang's smile disappeared and her eyes fell, turning watery at the same time. Summer _really_ didn't like making Yang cry, but there were some things she needed to learn. She'd make up for it on the way upstairs for Yang's midday nap. But now, it was time to continue with lunch. Summer filled the spoon again. "Yaaaang, another airship is flying in." Yang looked up and her eyes brightened again. Her mouth opened for the food, and this time, her head stayed in place.

When several more airships came into port, Yang yawned. Her eyes half lidded, and her head hung to the side. "Someone's tired." Summer untied Yang's bib and picked her up from her high chair. She held Yang close to her chest. Tired arms tried to wrap themselves around Summer's neck, but didn't make it halfway up before falling back to her sides. "Come on. Let's get you back to your crib."

Summer took Yang out of the kitchen and back upstairs. She hummed a lullaby on the way up. By the time she made it to Yang's room, Yang was fast asleep. Summer kept on humming until she laid Yang in her crib. She leaned forward and kissed Yang on the forehead. "Sleep well, Phoenix. You've still got a long day ahead of you." She slowly walked out of Yang's room, trying not to make any noise.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, Summer slumped against the opposite wall. She buried her head in her arms and knees. "I'm sorry, Raven. I'm stealing your baby. I guess I knew this would happen, but it's much worse than I thought it would be. Raven, just come back and be a part of your daughter's life."

Summer didn't know how long she sat there like that. After a while, she felt someone sit down beside her. A large hand fell on her shoulder. "Sum, what's wrong?" Tai asked.

"Everything." Summer took her head out of her arms and rested her chin on them. "Yang's fine. She's crawling, laughing, showing more motor skills in her neck, and she said her first words today." Summer's head sunk into her arms once more. "She called me mama, when her real mama is nowhere to be found."

Tai hooked an arm around Summer's shoulders. "Sum, Raven left us, and odds are she's never coming back. You are Yang's mom now."

 _She still loves Yang!_ Summer wanted to yell. _She's protecting her!_ Instead, she just shook her head. "She's coming back. I'll make her. I'll tie her up in the basement and make her watch Hisney movies and home videos of Yang until she's ready to cuddle, kiss, and spoil Yang like a good mother should."

Tai laughed with little humor. "With your positivity, I'm surprised there's any Grimm within ten miles of here. That has to cancel out everything else."

Summer allowed herself to smirk at Tai. "Then Yang should get rid of every Grimm on Remnant. She only cries when she's hungry and when she needs a diaper change. Otherwise you can't get the smile off her face."

Tai chuckled. "Well, there is that." He paused. "Seriously Summer, you're Yang's mom now. Raven's not here, you are. You've already spent more time with her than Raven has. And, frankly Summer, I think you'd be a better mom than Raven ever could be."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment toward me or an insult toward Raven." Summer faced Tai and locked eyes with him. She saw something in Tai's eyes that she hadn't seen directed at her before. It felt… _No. Not now._ Tai and Raven were technically divorced, but that didn't mean Raven didn't have feelings…Summer actually didn't know. That never came up in the letters she and Raven sent to each other. Either way, Summer was _not_ ready for that with her partner's recent ex-husband.

"I, uh, need some air." Summer stood up and made her way to the front door. She pushed the door open and walked toward her shed. Since Yang had been born, Summer kept her weapon as far out of Yang's reach as possible. The others did too, but Summer was the only one who kept hers outside the house.

She pushed open the shed and reached for Sun's Light's position on a top shelf. Killing Grimm always eased her mind. As she was turning around, she saw something in the reflection in a window. She approached the window, taking care to keep the reflection in sight. Her heart stopped when she realized what she was looking at.

A sniper was set up in the trees, his weapon pointing at Yang's room.

Summer gripped Sun's Light and for once, she almost let her anger take over. If she stepped out and looked in that direction, the sniper would fire. She needed to get over there without him noticing. In order to do that, Summer needed to teleport without having a direct line of sight. She knew the dangers of such an act well. One time at Sanctum, she teleported too close to a tree and nearly lost her entire right arm.

But now, she had a clear view. She knew that area and where the ground was. Whatever tiny foliage was around there would be cut around her. By the time the sniper saw rose petals around him, it would be too late.

Summer bit her lip and activated her Semblance. She teleported to the trees right where she wanted to be. She whipped Sun's Light down and to the right and cut through the receiver of the sniper rifle. The man gasped, but didn't have time to do much else before he was pinned beneath Summer. While she wasn't the strongest person on her team by a long shot, she could still pin an angry Beowolf with ease.

She moved her head close to the man's ear. "What are you doing aiming a gun at my house?"

"Get off me, will ya?" The sniper tried to through Summer off to no avail. "Qrow sent me, something about testing your reflexes."

Summer used an elbow to keep one of the man's arms in place while she reached for the ammo magazine. She ejected it and looked inside. "Qrow would not send someone to test my reflexes, and have them use real ammo to threaten my daughter." Summer's tone turned dark for that last part.

"Come on! It's true! Call him."

"How about you tell me who you're really working for, and I hand you over to the police without hurting you?"

The man beneath her laughed. "Really? Qrow told me about you. You won't hurt anyone who isn't a threat."

Summer tightened her grip and growled. "That was before someone threatened my baby girl. Raven, who I'm assuming you're after, taught me a few things before she left. Who are you working for?" Summer wanted to feel disgusted from her words, but she wasn't. She really would do anything to protect Yang.

The man stiffened beneath her. "The brat is the bandit's child."

Summer smirked though the guy couldn't see it. She'd gotten to him. "If you see her, could you tell her that? It would save me the trouble of finding her and dragging her back by the ear. She ran away with her bandits months ago, and we haven't heard from her since."

"Bull. Shit. I've been watching you for a long time. You're never apart for long."

"That used to be true. Then she got a letter from her tribe and she went berserk. If you've been watching us, you should know that. But I've heard enough." Summer pushed herself into a standing position while keeping a foot firmly planted on the sniper's hands. She held the point of Sun's Light to the hands and let her Aura flow. The area around her lit up and ice formed around the sniper's hands. Instant handcuffs were great.

Summer grabbed the man's frozen hands and hauled him to his feet. She also grabbed both halves of the sliced rifle. "Since you've been a good boy, you don't have to deal with me. Instead, you deal with the Patch police. They're really nice people, and they know me, and they can't be bought." She looked to the sky and teleported. It took two more to get herself and her prisoner to the police station, though the sniper didn't like the twenty-foot drop. Summer took the brunt of the fall, but they guy still complained.

"Oh, quiet you. I could have let you for the Grimm." Summer escorted the sniper inside.

The officer at the front desk stood up as soon as he saw Summer. "Miss Rose. You have another one?""

"I do." Summer pushed the sniper forward and handed over both halves of the sniper rifle. "This guy made it personal. Had this rifle aimed at my house. Apparently he has some problem with Raven."

"Raven?" The officer scowled. "Didn't she abandon her kid."

Summer felt her eyebrows twitch. _No._ "Yes."

"We'll take it from here, Miss Rose." The officer waved to a few more standing near the edges of the room. The two came and took the gunman and the broken weapon away. "Ya know, Miss Rose," the officer behind the desk continued, "the detective position never filled out. The sarge said to extend the offer if you came back."

Summer shook her head. "I've got a baby to take care of. Maybe when she's older." She turned around and left the police station. As soon as she stepped foot outside, she heard a familiar bird call. She looked up to a street light where a raven rested. The way it looked at her, it could only be one. "Take care of them," Summer whispered at the bird, "for all of our sakes."

* * *

"Mama," Yang pulled on Summer's hood, "I hungwy."

Summer smiled down at her daughter. "I think you mean 'I'm hungry,' and you ate a whole piece of pizza five minutes ago. I think that's enough."

"You and dada eat more." Yang pouted. "I want more."

"Me and daddy are grownups. We have more storage down here." Summer patted her stomach. "When you're older, you can eat more. But if you eat much more now, you'll burst. That wouldn't be fun for anyone."

"I got room." Yang lifted up her shirt and smacked her belly like her mom did. "Empty!"

Summer smirked at her daughter's antics. Yang was taking after her, with a little bit of Tai thrown in, and Raven's protectiveness of her hair. Summer faced her other two teammates at the table. "Tell you what, Yang, go play with Uncle Qrow for a bit, and I'll have some cookies for you when you're done." Across the table, Qrow nearly spit out his orange pop. Tai also raised an eyebrow.

Yang's eyes brightened and she waddle-ran beside the table. "Uncie Qwow! Come on!" She pulled on Qrow's pants and tried to drag him to the living room.

Qrow sighed and 'glared' at Summer. "I better get some cookies out of this too. She'll have me exhausted in five minutes."

"Come on. You'll love it." Summer made her the back of her right hand face Qrow and she moved her fingers in a sweeping motion. "Go on. Shoo."

"Fine, I'll go." Qrow stood up, making Yang squeal with happiness. She ran to the living room and out of sight.

"No running in the house!" Summer called after her. Qrow would make sure Yang stayed safe, 'Semblance' or not.

"Really? Qrow?" Tai asked, not sounding accusing. "What if I wanted to spend some time with my daughter?"

"Qrow's been on mission for months. He's barely spent any time with Yang. If he wants to be the cool uncle, he needs to start early."

Tai shrugged. "That, I get, but cookies? Isn't she a little young? I'm surprised she could eat that pizza."

Summer giggled. "Who'd have thought _you_ would be so protective. Always flinging yourself into danger." She stood up and searched the cabinets for the right ingredients.

"Aren't I team teddy bear?"

"That means you're huggable. That doesn't necessarily mean you're a protective parent." Summer grabbed the chocolate chips and a box of raisins from the cabinet. Some part of it might as well be healthy. Yang liked grapes anyway.

" _I'm_ huggable? Have you met yourself?"

"True, but I'm usually the one giving them, not receiving them." Summer turned around and smiled at Tai. "We make a good team like that."

Tai returned the smile. "That we do."

Summer continued to stare at Tai until she realized she was getting lost in his eyes. She shook her head and tried to focus on baking. She'd gotten used to calling Yang her daughter, and from the few letters she'd gotten from Raven, she didn't have a problem with it either. But…ever since Yang started calling Summer and Tai mama and dada, Summer had been looking at Tai differently.

She didn't know what to think about it. By the time she realized she had feelings for Tai back at Beacon, he and Raven were already together. Summer backed off and was only happy when she was Raven's Maid of Honor. But…with Raven being gone for over a year and with no signs of changing, Summer had allowed those feelings to come back.

Unlike with Yang, that felt _so_ wrong. Tai didn't need someone to act like his wife. He and Summer had shared a few moments since Yang first called Summer mama, but nothing overly romantic or anything. Still, Raven didn't want to leave Tai nor Yang like that. Tai was hers, not Summer's…but if school kids were anything like they were when Summer was in elementary school, they would make fun of Yang for having separated parents… _Stop it, Summer! Stop trying to talk yourself into this!_

A hand fell on Summer's shoulder, making her jump. "Sum, you okay?" Tai asked. "You've been standing there for a while."

Summer sighed. "I've…been thinking."

Tai didn't respond right away. "Raven?"

"Her, Yang…us." Summer whispered the last word.

"Oh." Tai's hand disappeared.

"I know Raven's been gone a long time, but I don't think it's been enough." Summer shook her head, desperately trying to figure out how to tell Tai 'no' without revealing the secret. "She might come back on her own. I don't know. I want Yang to know her real mom."

Tai's hand returned and squeezed Summer's shoulder. "Sum, you _are_ Yang's real mom. You've been here for her since the beginning and didn't run."

Summer froze. _Run? Does he know?_

"As for that…other stuff, I don't know either. It probably is too early to think about that. I don't know either. Let's just see where this all goes."

Small footsteps caught Summer's attention. "Mama?" Summer turned her head to look at Yang, who now stood in the doorway to the kitchen. "Cookies?"

Summer giggled at her baby girl. "Not yet, Phoenix. Patience."

"Hey, you. Get back here!" Qrow called from the other room. Yang yelped and disappeared around the corner. A high pitch laugh soon followed.

Both Summer and Tai laughed as well. "That's our girl," Summer sighed. That didn't even sound weird to her ears.

* * *

Summer opened her eyes and stared up at the wooden ceiling, only blocked by a ceiling fan. She blinked and cocked her head. Her room didn't have a ceiling fan. Only the master did. She turned her head to the side and froze. Tai's bare back was facing her. Summer's breath caught in her throat and she righted her head. She lifted the covers on the bed and looked down on herself. She pulled them back down as soon as she saw the things she didn't want to.

 _Oh my God…that wasn't a dream._ Summer was naked in bed next to Tai. If her memories weren't lying to her, she made the first move. _Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God._

Summer slowly crawled out of the bed, trying not to wake Tai. She found where she cast of her pajamas last night and ran to the bathroom for a shower. She took an extra-long time, getting rid of any of her sweat…and anything else that might be left over. _Why did I do that? Why did I do that? Why did I do that?_

After her extra long shower, Summer put on her pajama's and made her way to Yang's room. It didn't sound like either Tai, nor Qrow was up yet. That was good. She didn't need to face Tai, or his wife's brother…Oh gosh, did Qrow _hear_ that? Summer would never be able to live that down, for multiple reasons.

Summer pushed open the door to Yang's room. Thankfully, Yang was out cold. Summer sighed. Yang would still love her no matter what happened. "Phoeeeeniiiiix," Summer whispered as she approached Yang's crib. "Wake up, Yang." Summer caressed Yang's face.

Yang's hands slowly made their way to Summer's and grabbed on. For a toddler nearly one and a half years old, Yang had one heck of a grip. Yang held Summer's hand in place as her eyes opened. She smiled up at her mom. "Mama," Yang cooed.

"Daughter," Summer returned. She freed her one hand and stuck both of hers beneath Yang. "How was your sleep last night?"

Yang yawned and nodded. "Good."

"That's good to hear." Summer kissed Yang's forehead, then sniffed the air. She smiled even more. "You didn't make a stinky last night."

Yang's face straightened out and she cocked her head. "No." Her smile returned full force. "I do good?"

"Yes. You did very good." Summer brought Yang's forehead up and kissed it. Yang giggled and rested her hands on either side of Summer's head. It felt like she was trying to hold it in place. Summer obliged and kissed Yang's forehead two times more. Then she pulled her head back. "Come on. Let's get you dressed."

As usual, as soon as Yang's feet touched the floor, she ran, and mad it a pain to put a top on her. Yang always had a blast, and Summer did too…at first. After a while, she got genuinely frustrated, but she never got to the point of spoiling Yang's fun or yelling at her.

Finally, Summer caught her out of control daughter and got the shirt over her. She wiped her forehead and picked Yang up. For the first time Summer could remember, Yang resisted. "Noooo. Walk."

Summer blinked. "You think you can make it to the kitchen?" Yang nodded confidently. "Well then," Summer set Yang on the floor, "I'll be beside you every step of the way." Summer opened the door and gestured out.

Yang walked out on her own and turned to the kitchen. Summer crouched behind her, hands a few inches behind Yang's back in case she fell. Up until the stairs, there was no problem. When Yang reached them though, she stopped and brought a finger to her lips. She mumbled something unintelligible and looked between Summer and the stairs.

"Something wrong, Yang?" Summer grabbed one of Yang's hands.

"No." Yang shook her head. "I do this." Still, she held onto Summer's hand as she climbed down the first step. It almost proved to be too much for her, but she made it. The rest of the steps continued in the same way, with Yang barely making it with Summer right beside her, holding her hand and helping her balance.

Yang's feet touched the hardwood floor she let go of Summer's hand and took a few steps away. She looked around the floor with her eyes wide and her jaw dropped. Her lips slowly formed a smile and she spun faster and faster. She jumped as she continued to spin. "Yay!" she cheered.

"Good job, Phoenix!" Summer knelt to Yang's level and kissed her on the forehead. "I knew you could do it."

"Do what?" another voice asked.

Summer raised her head and saw Tai standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She stiffened, but hopefully Yang wouldn't notice the difference. _Did I really spend that much time with Yang?_ "She walked down the stairs all by herself."

"What?" Tai blinked at Summer. "No. My daughter isn't that independent yet. She loves her mommy's arms too much."

"I did!" Yang faced Tai and jumped even more. "I did! I did! I did!"

"Really? Well, I'll just have to take your word for it." He pushed himself off the door and knelt in front of Yang. "I'm proud of you, Yang. You'll be running in no time." Yang squealed and threw her arms around Tai's neck.

Summer smiled at Yang, but couldn't bear to look at Tai. Last night should _not_ have happened…She needed to tell him _why_ it shouldn't have happened, and should _NEVER_ happen again. "Qrow up yet?"

"He's in the kitchen." Tai stood up with Yang still wrapped around his neck, with a little support from his hands. "Been awake longer than I have."

"Could you leave Yang with him? We need to talk."

Tai's eyes lost their light and his smile became forced. "Uh, yeah. Sure thing." He brought Yang into the kitchen. Soon after, he came back rubbing the back of his neck. "Let me guess, you don't want the other two hearing?"

Summer shook her head. "Not a chance. I don't need to explain that to Yang, or have Qrow try to kill me." She turned around and marched toward the first-floor guest room. It sounded like Tai was right behind her.

She entered the room and sat on the bed. Tai closed the door behind him. "Sooo. Last night."

"Yeah…" Summer buried her face in her hands. "That shouldn't have happened."

"Agreed." Tai nodded. "I don't know if I pressured you into that or what, but we should have never gotten that far."

"I started it off, remember? If it's anyone's fault it's mine." Summer shook her head. "But that's not why it was so bad."

Tai hesitated. "Raven?"

"Yes, but you don't know how bad it is." Summer looked up with tears distorting her vison. "Qrow and I have been lying to you this whole time. Raven didn't run back to the bandits. She doesn't hate you and she _really_ doesn't hate Yang. I didn't buy a single one of those Flame Wheel cars for Yang. Raven bought and brought them all."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up." Tai waved his arms in front of him and his eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"She didn't get a letter from her tribe the day she left. It was from the Nevermores. It wasn't just a letter either. That would have been bad enough. It was pictures of Yang from outside the house, and another one of someone else who was related to someone who took on the Nevermores."

Summer buried her head in her arms. "It scared Raven. She was in tears. I've never seen her like that." Summer lifted her head again. "She didn't run because she hated us. She ran because she _loves_ us."

Tai stared at Summer, his eyes narrowing even more. "She sure has a funny way of showing it."

"She promised me as soon as it was safe, she'd come back. Every time I see her she says the same…and I sort of just ruined that."

"Every time?" Tai slightly raised his voice. "How often do you see her?"

"Once a month, one of my weekend missions I go visit her and try to convince her to come back."

"Let me guess," Tai crossed his arms, "she has a different reason each time?" Summer couldn't tell if Tai was mad at her or Raven.

"Tai, they had a sniper on our house a few months ago." Tai blinked and his arms became less clenched. "I took him out, and I haven't seen or heard anything from them since." Summer looked away from Tai. "Raven still thinks fear is weakness. If she's scared of these guys, they're the real deal.

Tai turned around and ran his hands through his hair. "You said Qrow knows too?"

"I didn't tell him, and neither did Raven. He figured it out on his own. He knows Raven too well."

"And why didn't either of you tell me?" Tai glared at Summer.

"Tai, you're a worse actor than I am. We had to have you believe it." Summer buried her head in her arms again. "I hated doing that, especially in the last few months…but I had to say now.

"I don't blame you if you're mad at me. I don't care if hate me. I deserve it. I should never have kept this from you." Summer paused. "But I am legitimately on mission the next few days. I'm escorting a salvage team in Mountain Glen. I should actually be taking off now. Don't want to be late." She stood up from the bed and walked to the door. "Plus, I need a few days to think things over." She left the room without looking back.

* * *

 **Soooo...yeah. That happened...I'll go now.  
**

 **One more thing, this marks the halfway point in Nevermore. No huge year long thing this time.**


	8. The Phoenix and the Gemstone

**Okay, reactions to vol 5 chap 2: Hazel is the likable villain, screw Adam, screw canon Raven. Weiss isn't quite the cinnamon roll as Ruby, but still. You do** _ **not**_ **kick Weiss in the face! All hope for Raven in canon is gone...At least birdmom kind of exists here.**

 **Oh, and this chapter was combined with 9. Both were on the shorter side, and I believe deal with similar things. That means one less week until Reconstruction.**

* * *

Raven pulled her sword out of the man she once fought in the tournament. "What a waste." She wiped a hand across her chin then held it away from her face. Her gloved hand was coated with her own blood. The guy actually made in through her Aura before she made it through his. If he didn't run as soon as his own fell, he might have been able to kill Raven. "And here I thought you were a worthy opponent back then."

She limped across the rooftop toward the side where Vacuo police should be taking care of the two people Raven left alive. Her Aura should be able to take care of her newest leg injury before the day was out. Raven looked over the side of the building. Four officers led two prisoners between them. Maybe, just maybe, this bunch getting busted would be enough to knock some sense into the Nevermores. If they did, Raven would go back to her baby girl. She'd been away for way too long.

As Raven was pulling away from the edge of the roof, the kids were brought out of the building. She stopped and watched what the officers and kids did. The kids tried to cling onto a few of the officers. But most of the officers wanted nothing to do with the kids. Only one of them showed any interest in helping them, and he was the biggest guy around. Just like Tai, a big teddy bear. Get Summer in there and they'd feel loved and wanted in two seconds flat.

Raven's instincts told her to get down there too. Even though she'd been gone most of Yang's life at that point, she still wanted nothing more than to be with her Firecracker. Those kids down there needed a mother's touch. Raven had to fight going down there herself. The remaining Nevermores might find out that this whole thing was a ruse.

She shook her head and left the scene. Raven picked up her mask from where it fell. At this point, she didn't need to cover her face, but it still felt better. All those monsters she faced would see a Grimm mask as they were cut down…Summer would not approve of that kind of thinking.

Summer was due to come in later in the day. Most of the time she just spoke about Yang, and how she wanted Raven to come back. Hopefully this time was different. Raven wanted to see her daughter again, and not with a bird's eye view through a window. She wanted to hold Yang in her arms, sing her to sleep, like she'd seen Summer do so many times through a window.

Raven stopped as her legs hit the half wall on the other side of the roof. She didn't even realize she walked that far. "I'm daydreaming again. Summer, you're still rubbing off on me." Raven shook her head and turned around. She swung her sword in front of her and a portal opened.

She stepped through it and into her apartment in one of the few towns on the border of the Kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo.. The portal closed behind her and she sighed. She set her weapon by the wall to the door and limped to her couch. After all the time away from the rest of the team, she'd fallen back into some of her tribal habits. Not bandaging wounds and letting Aura heal them was one of them. Of course she'd get a lecture from Summer about Aura not being able to heal infections well. At the moment, Raven wouldn't mind hearing Summer read her the riot act.

Raven turned on her projector and turned to one of the few channels Vacuo's CCT actually got out this far. The only news station this place got was VNN, which was fine with Raven. Kept her just a little closer to home. It looked like the only interesting thing that happened in Vale recently was a Mountain Glen salvage team having to return early because their Huntress escort got sick. That couldn't be fun for anyone. Other than that, the newscast focused on a new Faunus equality group called the White Fang. Hopefully this one didn't go the path of so many others.

Someone knocked on her door. Raven stiffened and looked toward it. It could be Summer, but it could be someone sent to get rid of her. That had happened a few times. Raven stood up and creeped toward her door. She drew her sword and looked through the peephole.

A person in a brown robe stood outside, facing away from the door. He or she turned around and a pure white mask covered his or her face. So far, it looked a lot like Summer's disguise. Raven opened the door a crack and glared at the person. The person reached up to his or her face and pulled the mask down so just her eyes were visible. Silver irises stared back at Raven. It was Summer alright, but something was…wrong.

Raven pulled her door open and Summer stepped inside. She closed the door quickly behind her partner. "We're clear, Sum."

Summer's shoulders sagged and she sighed. "Good." She peeled her mask off and let it drop to the floor. "It hurts standing this stiff." Summer let her extra cloak fall to the floor. She wore her normal combat outfit minus her trademark white hood as she always did while visiting.

"Anything interesting happen since last time we saw each other?" Raven walked to her couch and sat down.

Summer winced and sat next to Raven. "Yeah, you could say that." She rubbed the back of her neck. "There was a small Grimm attack on Vale a few days ago. I helped force it back. There was a Colonel from Atlas there as well. James Ironwood. His team beat ours in the team round in our first tournament."

"Since when does a small Grimm attack get you riled up?" Raven smirked. "You don't like him, do you?"

"What? Ew. No!" Summer fervently shook her head. "He was a good fighter. The only reason I mentioned him is because I had to put him in cryofreeze to save his life. A Deathstalker got him pretty bad."

Raven froze. "So, someone from Atlas who isn't a Headmaster knows you're a Maiden?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Summer shrugged. "The entire right side of his body's pretty much gone. Even with the freeze, I don't know if he's going to survive." She dipped her head. "I need to lay low until Ozpin clears this whole mess."

"Well, as long as you keep your disguise on while in public, you're welcome here." Raven paused. Something wasn't sitting right with her. "But you're not stressed because you've been found out."

Summer smiled, but the expression didn't make it to her eyes. "I can't think of anything else it would be."

"How have you kept this whole thing a secret with you being such a bad liar?" Raven's heart sunk. "Is everything okay back home? Is Yang okay?"

"Everything and everyone's fine." Summer waved her arms in front of her. "But I…" Her eyes watered. She pulled her feet up onto the couch and buried her head in her knees. She mumbled something into her legs.

"I can't hear you, Sum." Raven put a hand on her partner's shoulder. This wasn't a good thing. Whenever Summer wasn't smiling, something was _very_ wrong.

Summer lifted her head an inch. "I slept with him." She buried her face once more.

Raven's jaw dropped. "James?"

Summer shivered and she faced Raven. "What part of 'ew, no' don't you understand."

"Qrow?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"I wish it was that simple." Summer faced forward again and rested arms on her knees.

Raven narrowed her eyes. Summer wasn't one to sleep around. As far as Raven knew, Summer hadn't slept with anyone before whoever this was. James was a ridiculous thought, Qrow made sense because the two actually went on half a date. Who else would Summer… Raven's eyes widened. "Tai?" Summer squeaked and buried her head in her arms.

Raven's eyes twitched. Her partner, the one who never wanted to hurt anyone, slept with her husband? Wait…Summer 'save myself for the one' Rose slept with anyone period? "Why?" Raven's voice was nothing but a growl.

"I don't know." Summer shook her head in her arms. "I can't even remember what led up to it. All I know is he said how good of a mother I'd been to Yang and he somehow compared me to a sunrise and I…jumped on him." Summer hugged her legs tighter. "After that, everything happened so fast."

"So, this wasn't Tai's idea? He didn't force it on you?"

"No. It was all me."

Raven stared at her partner. Her head told her to be mad. She wanted to scream at Summer and tell her to leave. But at the same time, that felt wrong. Why wasn't she upset? She should be furious that Summer slept with her husband. But she wasn't mad. In fact, she almost felt _happy_ for Summer. "Wow. I never thought I'd hear you say that."

"That's not even the worst part!" Summer took her head out of her arms. "I had to tell him everything after that. He knows why you left and that we've been seeing each other every few weeks. He knows you still love Yang and you're coming back as soon as you can. I went on a mission the day after. When I came back, he acted as if nothing had changed.

"Then yesterday, I checked the team's bank account because you know, that massive hack that's going around. I noticed a large dip in Tai's. I was about to call it in, but I saw that it was spent at a jewelry store in Vale." Summer swallowed and inched away from Raven. "I think he's going to propose. And after this past year, I don't know if I can say no."

Once again, Raven thought she should be angry, but she didn't. "Well, I guess that's that." She leaned back on her couch.

"But…aren't you mad? Why aren't you yelling at me?" Summer looked at Raven with tear filled eyes.

"I'm asking myself the same thing." Raven shrugged. "But I'm not. If you want, Tai's all yours."

Summer's jaw dropped. "But, Raven."

"You've been there, I haven't. I guess I've had time to think about all this." Raven shook her head. "Things were looking up, but I could tell after Yang was born, we would go back to our old fighting selves sooner or later. Anyway, you're a better mom than I could ever be."

"Um, about that…" Summer looked away and purse her lips. She rubbed the back of her neck and her cheeks burned red.

Raven straightened up. "Summer, you're not…"

"I am." Summer nodded. "Got the first round of morning sickness while escorting a salvage team in Mountain Glen."

"That was you?" Raven turned to the projector then back to Summer. "I just saw something about that on the news." Raven felt a smile tugging on her face, but didn't see anything remotely like that on Summer's. "Come on, Sum. I always expected you to be jumping off the walls when you got pregnant."

"I mean, under normal circumstances, I would. But…" Summer shook her head. "Tai is your husband not mine."

"I believe by Vale law, we're divorced and you just said you think he's going to propose, and you essentially said that you were going to say yes. You should be bouncing off the walls." Raven stood up and picked Summer's mask up from where she dropped it. "Come on. We're going out. We're going to celebrate you having a baby of your own."

* * *

Summer breathed deeply as she settled into her new bed. "Well, that hurt." In fact, she still hurt. The worst pain of her life. That put the few broken limbs she had to shame. The pain had dissipated in the past few minutes enough so that wasn't everything she felt, but she still wouldn't be walking around for a while…but it was so worth it. She lifted her head and smiled at her baby girl, who had only just fell silent. "At least you were smaller than Yang."

Tai reached an arm over and rubbed his second daughter's head. "She's beautiful. She kind of looks like you. Another clone, maybe?"

"She has my eyes. That's all we can tell right now." As if on cue, Ruby's head shifted and she opened her eyes. Pure silver irises stared back at their mom. Summer's smile grew. "Hi, Ruby." She tightened her arms and brought her daughter closer. She kissed Ruby on the forehead. "You are just the prettiest little girl." Ruby closed her eyes and laid her head back on Summer's chest, right above her mom's heart. "Yep. Another perfect baby girl."

"You thirsty?" Tai held out a glass of water.

Summer chuckled. "Is the moon shattered?" She took the glass with her free arm and drank greedily. The water did wonders for her sore throat from screaming so much, but it wasn't nearly enough. Summer pulled the glass away and held it toward her husband. "Could you get me some more?"

"Of course. You've earned it." Tai took the glass and walked toward the bathroom.

"So did you," Summer called. "I can't remember everything that I said or did, but I think I abused you quite a bit."

"You did. But then again, you weren't you." Tai disappeared into the bathroom.

Summer returned her attention to her baby girl. "Now where were we?" She pulled Ruby up again and rested her head on top of her daughter's. "I've been waiting to meet you for months, Ruby. You were worth the wait." Ruby's eyes opened again and she looked up at her mom. Tai walked out of the bathroom, full glass in hand. Summer placed a finger on Ruby's cheek an guided her toward Tai. "Ruby, that is your daddy."

Tai smiled and waved with his free hand. "Hi."

"He's been waiting for you too." Summer rocked her baby. "He may look big and scary, but he's sweet. He won't hurt you. He'll protect you for forever."

"That I will." Tai sat in the chair next to Summer's bed. He leaned forward and kissed Ruby on the forehead. "Don't worry. You're probably in the safest room on Remnant right now." He handed the cup to Summer. "Here you go. Got it as cold as I could."

"Not that I couldn't fix that in a second or two." Summer took the glass and downed that one as well. "Any idea on when Qrow's getting here with Yang?"

"Soon." Tai took the cup. "He texted as they were wheeling you in here. He should be in the hospital now. Need more water?"

"Please." Summer leaned her head harder onto Ruby's, but not to the point where she'd hurt her baby girl.

As Tai left the bathroom again, the door to the room opened. Qrow poked his head in. "Is it safe?" he asked.

"Perfectly." This time, Summer only took a sip of her water. "Come on in."

Qrow pulled his head out. "Come on, Firecracker," he said to Yang. "Time to meet your sister." He pushed the door fully open and entered the room.

Yang ran past and to Summer's side. She stood on the tips of her toes and tried to look over the bed. But the two year old wasn't tall enough to see her mom, much less her sister. "I wanna see," she whined.

"I'll help you out." Qrow walked behind Yang and put his hands on her sides. He lifted Yang up and set her on Summer's bed.

Yang blinked and crawled across her mom's bed to where she was sitting just across from Ruby. She craned her neck and pushed herself up on her mom's side. "I wanna seeee…"

"Let me help." Summer gave her glass back to Tai, then guided Yang onto her lap. Her oldest looked up as Summer turned Ruby so Yang could fully see her sister. Ruby didn't even protest. "Yang, this is your new baby sister. Her name is Ruby."

"Wuby." Yang put on one of her Sanus sized smiles. "Can I hold her?"

Summer hesitated for a half second. "Of course. Just hold her like I am now." Yang nodded like she was in an earthquake. Summer carefully handed her baby girl to her big girl.

Yang equally as carefully held her sister and her smile grew. She hugged Ruby and gently rocked from side to side. "I wove you Wuby."

"Her name is _Ruby,_ not _Wuby,"_ Summer corrected.

"I said that." Yang looked up at Summer. "Wuby."

Summer giggled. Yang still couldn't say her 'r's and 'w's right, and she didn't even know it. "Yang, repeat after me. Rrrrrrruby."

"Wwwwwwwuby." Yang's eyes narrowed and her lips stuck out. She was so cute when she got angry.

"Rrrrrrruby," Summer corrected again.

Yang shook her head and her lips stuck out even more. "Wwwwwwwuby!"

Summer smiled at her oldest and shook her head. "You'll have plenty of time to practice in the future."

Yang stuck out her lips even more then turned her head to Ruby. "I talk good." Her smile returned and she rubbed her head against Ruby's. "I teach you." Ruby's lips trembled then she started crying. Yang's jaw dropped and she hugged Ruby even more. That only brought more cries from the newborn. "What I do?"

"Here." Summer took Ruby back from Yang and held her close to her chest. "You need to be gentle." She rocked Ruby from side to side. "You need to talk in a calm voice. Hold her about right here, close to your heart. Well, that one might only be for me 'cause I'm her mom." Ever so slowly, Ruby's crying lessened and disappeared completely. In fact, it sounded like she was falling asleep. "See? I learned some of these things from you."

"She okay?" Yang wiggled up Summer's lap and positioned herself across from Ruby.

"You just made her uncomfortable." Summer smiled at her oldest. "I don't think she'll hold it against you."

Yang nodded and wiggled closer to Ruby again. "I'm sowwy Wuby." She hugged her baby sister, this time more gently than the other. "I didn't mean to scare you." She kissed Ruby's forehead and just leaned against her. This time, Ruby didn't complain.

Summer covered her enormous smile with her free hand. She removed it and made an old-fashioned camera gesture. Tai took his Scroll out of his pocket and lined it up with the three girls. Summer rested a cheek on both her girl's heads. She waited for Tai to give her the all clear. A few seconds later, he stuck a thumb up at Summer. "Okay Yang," Summer kissed her oldest's head, "mommy's tired. I'm going to be here for a few days, but I'll be home with Ruby soon?"

"Why?" Yang looked up, her eyes starting to water. "You gone so much."

 _Ohhh, boy. How do I explain childbirth this early?_ "I, uh…"

"Why aren't you fat?" Yang poked Summer's belly.

Summer shot a glare at Qrow, then returned her attention to Yang. "I found her in Grimm territory. I ran and fought so much, I lost all that weight."

Yang's lips shot out again and she looked at Ruby. "Why she there?"

Tai shrugged. "We don't know for sure, but some people think it's storks that got lost and were too tired to carry babies."

"Your dad found you a few miles away from home." Qrow walked in from the side and put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Found you surrounded by sunflowers believe it or not." He placed both hands on Yang's sides. "Now your mommy said she needed her sleep. We should probably let her do that."

Yang's shoulders slumped and she kissed Ruby's cheek. "Fine." She removed her grip from Ruby and allowed Qrow to pick her off the bed. "Be home quick," she said as Qrow set her on the ground.

"I'll be home as soon as the doctors say it's okay for both me and Ruby to leave." Summer gave Yang a small wave. "Bye!" Yang returned it and Qrow escorted her out.

Just as Yang left the room, Qrow turned his head back. "So who's the father? Can't be Tai. Ruby's too cute for that."

Tai laughed, but Summer glared at Qrow. "Not with Yang in earshot," she growled through her teeth. Qrow winced and left the room as well.

"A little much, don't you think?" Tai asked.

"Yang might be able to understand stuff like that. No need to confuse her early on." Summer sighed and leaned back in her bed once more. "We'll have to tell her eventually, but only when she's older." Some motion outside the window caught Summer's eye. A raven was flying erratically just outside the hospital. If the motions were any indication, that raven was Raven. Summer honestly didn't expect her partner to show up like this. Still, it was a welcome surprise. The whole team was there. If only Raven could have been in the room. That would have made the whole thing better.

* * *

Summer shot up in her bed and listened. Everything sounded quiet in the house. Tai didn't snore, both Yang and Ruby were quiet, and it didn't sound like anything was outside, not even the owls that kept Summer up so many times before. So why did she wake up in such a hurry? She shrugged and laid back on her pillow. Probably just the wind.

Just as she closed her eyes, she heard her baby girl crying. Summer snapped her eyes open and looked to where her daughters' room was. She burst from her bed and ran for the door. This happened every night, but it never got any easier.

As she reached Ruby's room, Summer stopped in place. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The girls' room didn't have a nightlight, but most nights, the moon shone perfectly through the window. No nightlight needed, not that any girl needed it in the first place. Yang was trying to climb down from her bed. Summer picked her oldest up and set her back down on the bed. "Mommy…" Yang's lower lip trembled, "I help."

"I know you want to Yang," Summer caressed Yang's face, "but I don't want you hurting yourself or her climbing into the crib." She turned around and walked over to Ruby's crib. "It's okay, Ruby, I'm here."

Summer picked her crying, baby girl up and cradled her in her arms. She looked over her baby and listened for anything to give Ruby's current episode away. It didn't sound like she was hungry, and it didn't feel or smell like she made a mess. "It was only a bad dream." She kissed Ruby's forehead. "That wasn't real, this is." Ruby's crying lessened with time.

"That's my girl." Summer faced her oldest once more. She'd had an idea for a few nights now, and she wanted to test it out. "Yang, do you want to try?"

"Yes!" Yang nodded frantically, never taking her eyes off Ruby.

"Okay then." Summer sat by her oldest's side. Yang held out her arms and her mother set her sister in her arms. She held her sister close, with Ruby's head just over Yang's heart. Yang rocked Ruby while humming. Ruby's crying slowed and disappeared from existance. She was still awake, but silent.

"Very good, Yang." Summer rubbed her oldest's back. "Maybe you'll win the award for 'Best Big Sister of the Year."

"Weawwy?" Yang finally took her eyes off Ruby and beamed up at Summer.

"While I'm not in charge of that, you'd definitely win it if I was." Summer returned her attention to her baby girl and caressed Ruby's cheek. "You're in good hands, Gem. Mine, your daddy's, and your big sister's."

Yang smiled and kissed Ruby on the forehead. "I wove you, Ruby."

Summer tried and probably failed to hold back a huge smile. That was the first time she ever heard Yang say an 'R' right. "I think it's time we put you both back to bed." She continued rubbing Yang's back singing one of her favorite lullabies. Yang's eyes drifted downward, but she snapped them back open before they fully closed. Ruby's breathing slowed and her eyes shut.

Summer stopped her song and lifted Ruby out of Yang's tired arms. She carried her baby girl back to the crib, kissing her forehead. "Sleep well, Gem. You will feel better in the morning." She set Ruby back down in the crib and pulled the covers over.

"She okay?" Yang asked groggily.

"Of course." Summer faced her oldest and approached the small bed. "Just a nightmare." She kissed Yang's forehead. "Now you need to get some sleep too." She pushed Yang back onto her bed. Yang fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow. Summer kissed Yang's forehead again. "Goodnight, Phoenix." She pulled Yang's covers over her.

Summer backed up from Yang's bed and left the room. She closed the door and walked back down the hall, listening back in case one of her girls woke up. Hearing nothing, she pushed the door open to the master. Tai hadn't even budged. Always the deep sleeper. Summer didn't mind. The more time she spent with her girls the better. Time of day didn't matter…too much.

* * *

"Okay. Let's see if this works." Summer straddled Bumblebee and kicked him into gear. As she hoped, her motorcycle purred to life. She clenched one of her fists and pumped it. "Finally! I can go off-roading!" She let the engine die and got off. Before she pushed open the doors to the shed, she checked the bit of the engine she had working on, just to make sure nothing came loose. Not seeing anything, she closed the cover back up.

As she picked up her helmet, she heard the door open behind her. "Mommy?" Yang said. Summer turned her head and faced her oldest. "What you doing?"

"Well, I just finished working on Bumblebee." Summer rubbed her motorcycle's seat. "Before I could only take it on the paved roads, not the dirt ones or any trails."

Yang looked down and out toward the main street. "But how you get from here to there?"

"I walked it there before, but now I can ride out there no problem."

Yang's face lit up like a lighthouse. "Can I ride?"

Summer just stared at Yang. Her instinctual response was 'no.' It was too dangerous, especially since she wanted to get around the whole island as fast as possible. Then again, she didn't _need_ to drive around the island, and Yang would need to travel someway other than walking at some point. At the moment, Summer only trusted herself to help Yang in that regard. "I guess for a little bit, but you'll need your bike helmet."

"Yay!" Yang walked past Bumblebee to where her on training wheeled bike rested. She picked her helmet off the handlebars and returned to her mom's side. "Can Ruby come too?"

Summer shook her head. "She's too young, too tiny. Besides, Bumblebee can only fit two."

Yang hung her head. "She have fun."

"Maybe." Summer knelt down and stuck a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Yang, I know you love your sister, but you can't do everything with her. You're going to preschool in a few years, but Ruby can't go for a couple years after that." She looked past Yang and out the door. "Besides, I think Ruby's having plenty of fun now." She turned Yang around to look to where Ruby was crawling after Qrow, who was holding a bag of strawberries.

"I guess." Yang looked up at Summer and her smile returned. "Can we go?"

"Of course. You need help putting on your helmet?" In response, Yang fit the helmet over her head. She grabbed the two connectors and moved them together. Both pieces missed several times. Summer was about to help Yang out when they clicked together.

Yang's smile widened and she jumped around. "I did it! I did it! I did it!"

"Yes, you did." Summer put a hand on top of Yang's helmet, making her oldest stop. She smirked. "Don't lose your head." Yang giggled and pushed her mom's hand away.

Summer picked Yang up and set her on the back of Bumblebee's seat. She grabbed her own helmet, mounted her bike, and kicked it on. The engine purred to life once more. Yang screamed happily and clapped her hands. Summer straddle-walked Bumblebee out the door.

"You ready Phoenix?" Summer turned her head back.

Yang bounced in her seat. "Go! Go! Go!"

"You asked for it. Hang on tight." Summer revved the engine twice, making Yang squeal in delight. She took her feet off the ground and flew down the dirt path to the road…so slow the needle didn't even move. It took all of Summer's concentration to keep her bike balanced at such low speed. Yang's tiny arms wrapped around Summer's waist, but judging by the squeals, she wasn't scared at all.

Summer rode around the house once. Tai had joined Qrow in front of Ruby, but he held a couple cookies instead. He waved at Summer as she came close. "Hey! So you got…that…working." His eyes widened and were fixed on a spot directly behind Summer.

"Yep! I can finally go cross country on this thing. I'm taking Yang out for a ride. We'll be back soon."

Tai blinked several times, then shook his head. "Be safe out there."

"We will." Summer turned Bumblebee toward the nearest forest trail and rode in. She walked this way many times. Heck, team STRQ was the reason this trail was here. Bumblebee would _not_ have made the trip before, but the all purpose tires along with the engine improvements made it a cakewalk.

Yang didn't freak out either. She didn't squeal as much as she did back in the yard, but she wasn't scared either. The few times Summer managed to look back, she saw Yang smiling at everything around them. Summer smiled to herself each time. Yang was becoming a lover of the wilderness. Maybe she should take her out to Emerald Falls park sometime, especially at nighttime.

A few minutes later, Summer and Yang left the trees and arrived at Summer's favorite place on the island, despite the conversation she and Raven had here years ago. She let the engine die again and pulled off her helmet. "How about a break here Yang?" She kicked down the kickstand before Yang could answer. Hopefully it wouldn't sink too far into the dirt.

"Why you like this place so much?" Yang asked as she looked over the cliff.

"I like the view. Another thing, the ocean breeze here is so nice most of the time. I'd live here if I could, but I can't pick up the house and move it here. I'm not that strong."

"It is pretty." Yang agreed.

Some motion in a nearby tree caught Summer's eye. She looked toward the tree line and saw a Raven flying toward them at full speed. Summer bumped her daughter. "Yang, it looks like your friend is here."

Yang looked toward the bird and squealed some more. "Birdy! Birdy!" Raven flew toward Yang and landed on her shoulder. She pressed her head against Yang's cheek. Yang hugged her real mother in disguise. "Mommy, can we keep it?"

Every time Yang asked that question, Summer wanted to say yes. Every time, she held herself back. She wanted to lock Raven in the basement and keep her there. At least then Yang would know her mother. "You know we can't, Yang. Birdy's home is out here."

"But…" Yang looked up at Summer with puppy dog eyes, "please…"

Summer shook her head. Yang was cute, even 'oogle my way into everything' cute, but not 'endanger everyone around me so I can have a pet' cute. "Yang, we've had this discussion before. We can't."

Yang's free shoulder drooped. Her head rose and she perked up again. "What about that one?"

Summer followed Yang's finger and stiffened. She had never seen an actual Nevermore around here before. "That's no birdy Yang. That's a Grimm." Raven took her head off Yang's cheek and looked in that direction as well.

"But it looks like a birdy."

"It may, but that's why they're so dangerous. They can pick up and take cute little girls from their homes."

Yang gripped onto Summer tighter, but loosened almost immediately. "How many you fought?"

"More than I can count." Summer reached for Sun's Light, but she grabbed empty air instead. She didn't grab it when she left the shed. "But it's not hurting anyone right now. Let's leave it be then head back home." Raven's head flicked to Summer and she nodded. She pressed her head into Yang's cheek once again, then jumped into the air and flew straight toward the Nevermore.

"But we just got here," Yang whined.

"There's Grimm in the area. We _need_ to go." Summer put her helmet back on and kicked on Bumblebee's engine. She drove away at a little more than five miles an hour. Several minutes later, she thought she heard a Nevermore scream. That took Raven longer than it should have. Then again, Raven never could make portals on the move, not for lack of trying.

The house came back into view and Summer drove for the shed. She parked inside and grabbed Sun's Light as soon as she made it off Bumblebee. Better safe than sorry. She helped Yang off the motorcycle. "Come on, let's get into the house."

Yang fumbled around with the clasp beneath her chin. "Help?"

Summer kneeled down and disconnected the chin strap in a second. "There you go." She hung the helmet on the handlebars on Yang's bike. By the time she turned around Yang was waiting by the door. "In a hurry?"

"Daddy has cookies!" Yang pointed at her dad, who indeed had a few more cookies in his hands.

"Well then, let's go get them." Summer gestured toward Tai. Yang sprinted out the door toward her dad. Summer giggled to herself and followed. As she walked, she searched the sky for any more Grimm. A Nevermore could cover that distance in less than a minute. If there were more, that could be bad for Ruby and Yang. She shook her head. That thinking would only attract them here.

Summer focused back on her family. Yang was reaching up for a cookie and Tai was giving one to her. Qrow was eating a strawberry while it looked like Ruby was nibbling on at least one. Summer stepped on a branch, snapping it. Ruby looked in her direction, with a strawberry in her mouth. Summer waved at her youngest. "Hi, Ruby"

The strawberry fell out of Ruby's mouth as she smiled. She leaned forward to stand on all fours, then she…stood up straight and started walking toward her mom.

Summer stopped in place and she clamped her hands over her mouth and nose. One of the biggest smiles she ever had hid behind her hands as she watched her baby girl take her first steps. She bounced on her platforms as Ruby approached. Ruby wasn't stable by any means, but she was making progress. Summer knelt down and opened her arms wide when Ruby was only a foot away. Ruby fell onto her mom's chest and Summer hugged Ruby tight. "Congratulations, Gem! You're getting to be a big girl!"

* * *

 **Fluff is fun. I should do this more often.**

 **A few more things: Merry Hallowthanksmas pt 1! (or at least I think it's part one...the weather here says otherwise) Happy Birthday this whole series. Two years ago today, I uploaded the first chapter of A Rose' Scales, then called Rubys and Scales. But more importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY ROSE! Hopefully you will celebrate with team RNJR, Qrow, and Oscar.  
**


	9. New Bird

**#IstandwithGhira. Nora, keep being you. Ruby, never grow up. Weiss, do your thing. Ozpin...you just HAD to mess up my plans more, didn't you? Vernal, is that a UNSC tattoo?  
**

 **Oh, and for those of you who care, I made the AHWU intro this week. Didn't expect to be taken that quickly.**

* * *

Summer sighed as she stared at the pure white mask in her hands. The day she could throw it out couldn't come soon enough. Hopefully Raven's problem with the Nevermores would end soon. Then she could finally be with her daughter as she should have been years ago.

Still, Raven was half a continent away. It took a while to teleport that far. Summer didn't want to keep her waiting. She stood up and fit the mask over her face. Summer faced west and began the first of many teleportations. She stopped paying attention to the area around her over a year ago. It was always the same. A cliff, an abandoned village, an intact village, it didn't matter. Summer didn't even stop long enough to kill nearby Grimm.

Eventually, she made it to the surprisingly large town on the border of Vale and Vacuo. She took out her Scroll and checked the time. It only took her an hour to get this far. Summer smirked under her mask. She was getting faster. Maybe she could teleport a little farther on her way back home.

Summer put her Scroll away and walked into the town on the Vacuo side. Around here, it wasn't unusual for people to wear masks. Pretty much any kind were acceptable, as long as they weren't blatantly Grimm. Raven must not walk around with hers on.

As she walked, Summer watched for anyone that could possibly be watching her. She didn't want anyone tracking her to Raven, or worse, anyone tracking her back to Patch and her little girls. As far as she could tell, no one spared her a look except for passing interest. She _had_ been in the area quite a bit.

Summer made it to Raven's apartment building and climbed up to her partner's floor. She made it to Raven's apartment without anyone stopping her. Summer knocked on the door and lowered her mask so only her eyes stuck over it. A few seconds later the door opened and Raven gestured her partner in. She closed the door right after.

"How was your trip?" Raven asked.

"The usual." Summer shrugged as she took her mask off. "A few Grimm looked at me, but didn't have time to do anything. And as far as I know, no one followed me."

"That's good to hear." Raven averted her eyes and rubbed one of her arms. "Do you…have any more pictures of Yang?"

Summer's smile broke off her face. "Of course!" Summer ripped off her brown cloak and pulled out her Scroll. "I've got tons! Sorry, but most of them are with Ruby." She plopped down on the couch and pulled up the most recent album.

Raven sat down next to Summer. "Are those two ever apart? You've said they do everything together."

"Well, they sleep in their own beds, they don't used the bathroom together, and I'm not giving them baths at the same time anymore. Then again, those are the few things they don't _want_ to do together." Summer scrolled through the pictures until she found one she hadn't shown Raven. "Oh! I took this one right after I got back last time." She tilted it toward her partner.

Raven looked over and laughed. "Oh my gosh! What happened here?"

"She was trying finger painting. She saw Tai's tattoo and wanted to give herself one. I think she said this was a snake."

"Really? She likes snakes?"

"I guess? Ooh! Speaking of creepy crawlies…" Summer flicked a few more pictures over. This one showed Tai with a piece of toilet paper going after a bug. Yang was curled in a ball in the corner of the room while Ruby was watching Tai. "I think Yang's scared of spiders."

Raven snorted. "Yep. She definitely wouldn't make it in the tribe. Too many Arachni around."

"That's like the only thing I've seen her scared of…apart from…well." Summer flicked to the next picture, where Yang somehow managed to get grape juice in her hair.

"What?" Raven's smile disappeared. "How'd she do this? Is she alright?"

"She's fine, except for having a bit of her hair clipped. Tai…" Summer flicked over again, this time Tai was sprawled out on the floor face down, hands covering where the sun don't shine. "Like I've said, she's strong for a three-year-old. That was one heck of a punch."

Raven covered her mouth with a hand, the corners of her lips peeking out. "How did she know where to punch?"

"I didn't teach her that. My guess is she was going for something to reach other than a leg."

Raven stared at the screen for another second, then burst out laughing. "He should have known better. She's my kid. Don't mess with the hair."

Summer smiled at her partner, but it became bittersweet. "Yes Raven. She is. I'm sure she'd love to know her real mom."

"Sum…" Raven sighed, "you know I want to."

"Then just come with me! Leave this place and come back! Do you even know anyone here?"

"The Nevermores are still after me. Have you seen the curtains?" Raven gestured to the main window. Summer followed her friend's gesture…Weren't those curtains blue last time, not black? "A week ago a Nevermore sniper tried to get me while I was in the kitchen. Obviously that didn't work and I got him back, but they know where I live. I need to move, but if I move back home, I'll lead them right back to the rest of you." Raven shivered and hugged herself. "We can shrug off Dust rounds like they're nothing. Yang and Ruby can't."

Summer stared at her partner, then shook her head. "Then how can I help?" Raven stared at Summer like she had two heads. "If taking down these people could make you come home faster, I'll take it."

"But…they'll find you. They'll track you back home. There won't be any convincing them that _you_ don't want anything to do with the girls."

"Frankly Raven, taking them on dressed as yourself besides the mask was a stupid decision. That made it so much easier to track you down." Summer gestured to her disguise laying on the floor. "Who would expect Summer Rose showing up in a Grimm mask and not wearing her white cape?"

Raven blinked and looked between Summer and the disguise. "But, Summer."

"Raven," Summer put a hand on her partner's shoulder, "this has grown into more than just getting you and Yang back together. If they're coming after you at your home, they need to be stopped. At this point, getting you and Yang back in each other's arms is a side effect."

"You don't need to do this."

"You're not the only one who can't be talked out of something. Just say the word, and I've got your back."

Raven continued to stare at Summer, then sighed. "Well, the Nevermores are leaving their traditional areas. They're moving away from Vacuo city and more toward here, maybe into Vale. I got information on a warehouse on the coast." Raven grimaced. "Supposed to be a big one. A 'distribution point.'" Raven spat out the last two words. "I don't know where they distribute to, but I don't care. If we take them out there, we deny them a lot of Lien."

"Okay." Summer put her Scroll back in a pocket, intentionally not asking how Raven heard about this place. "Is there anything I need to know before we go?"

"First off, if you're going full secrecy, you can't have Sun's Light or teleport." Raven stood up and walked toward the kitchen. She opened one of the cabinets and pulled out a Desert Falcon and a few ammo mags. "I'm sure you could use this as a club as well as a gun. Most people do."

"Not teleporting won't be a problem. Besides," Summer raised a hand and a weak wind blew around the apartment, "I got this to mask my Semblance."

Raven gave a sideways nod. "True. But you'll need a mask. I actually have Qrow's around here somewhere." She opened a closet and took out a few boxes. "He never wanted to go back and tried to destroy his. Me, well, you know my halfway through third year speech. I kept him from breaking it. I honestly think he forgot it still exists."

"I guess it's my temporary gain." Summer stood up and helped Raven look through some of the boxes. As they searched, Summer told more stories of Yang and Ruby. As far as Summer knew, Raven loved hearing about the girls. It was a good thing too. Summer loved talking about them. "And then one time, we were watching Tiger King as a family. I don't think Ruby knew what was going on. She's too young. All she knows is 'Ruby,' 'food,' 'Yang,' 'mama,' 'dada,' and all those early words. Anyway, she fell asleep on Yang's lap around Lakuna Jatatta, then Yang fell asleep with her head on Ruby's! Oh! It was so cute! I wish I had that picture on my Scroll. They were on my lap. Tai took the picture. I couldn't sneak it in time. Then two days later-"

"Found it!" Raven pulled a mask out of her box, this one with the markings of a Griffon. "Thought you could use a breath."

Summer smirked. "Did you just find that, or did you want to hear more about your Rae of sunshine."

Raven groaned. "What works better when it's directed at me, not my daughter."

"Well she's your chick. But I don't want to twist feathers. Just say the word and I'll Yang it out to dry."

Raven slapped a hand onto her face. "Oh my God. What did I do to my girl?"

"She's trying to make those puns herself. I think I'm quite the positive influence." Summer grabbed the mask and her smile disappeared, along with her good mood. "So I need to wear this?"

"If you want them to think you're a bandit, yes." Raven put a hand on Summer's shoulder. "Summer, I know what you think about them, but trust me, these guys make my tribe look like honorable huntsmen."

Summer nodded. "What can I expect to see in there."

Raven hesitated, then sighed. "The reason I wanted you to come with me long ago. The places they hold the Faunus are like old Mistral slave camps."

Summer's shoulders dropped. "That bad?"

"Maybe worse. Have I really not told you this before?"

"No specifics." Summer shook her head. "Well, should we get going?"

"Yeah. We need to scout this place out." Raven picked up Summer's disguise and handed it over. "Plus, I haven't been there before, so there's going to be a little more travel time."

Summer took the mask and fit it over her face. It felt weird on her face, then again, Qrow's was much more angled. She hefted her borrowed weapon from where Raven set it and checked the chamber. Satisfied, she grabbed the mags and put them in her ammo pouch. "This is your op. When do we leave?"

"Now." Raven reached into the closet and pulled out her own weapon and mask. She swiped her sword in front of her, opening a portal. She stepped through and Summer followed soon after.

It took a few more portals than Summer expected, but they reached the outskirts of a familiar city. "Bullworth? A little high profile, don't you think?"

"Yeah, and since this is on Vale's side of the border, things are a little more tricky. My 'friends' in the Vacuo police called ahead. The police here know what we're doing and are ready to assist when necessary."

"Okay." Summer turned to where the main Bullhead factory churned out more transports. "We know if it's around there, or somewhere else?"

"The warehouses near the factory are in constant use. That place _is_ too high profile. No, our target's in the outskirts, somewhere."

Summer looked around the rest of the city. Most buildings were about the same height, besides the factory of course. Perfect for running and jumping across. "Split up?"

"Call if you find anything." Raven turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Summer ran forward and jumped to the next roof over.

Navigating like this felt so weird. Sure, team STRQ and several others trained like this in Vale when they were still at Beacon, but Summer hadn't done it since they got flagged down by some police…that wasn't a fun night. Bullworth wasn't Vale, but they were in the same Kingdom. Hopefully not too many people called the police on a couple people running from roof to roof.

As Summer approached the other end of the city, she thought she heard some familiar voices. She stopped running and peeked over the edge of the roof, hoping she wouldn't attract too much attention. To her surprise, Barty and Peter were sitting outside a coffee shop together. Barty had several large books by him while Peter had a notepad. Summer cocked her head. Weren't they out of school? Barty got his Masters in History, and Peter never showed any interest in going further…Barty might be going to his Doctor's, but that didn't explain Peter. Summer shook her head and backed away from the ledge. That would be something for another time.

Summer continued across the rooftops. As far as she could tell, they all looked exactly the same. Nothing was out of place. Then again, she hadn't gotten to what looked like the warehouses yet. Those were a few buildings up. She set her eyes on one, and the door on the roof opened up.

Summer dove for cover behind the half wall on the edge of the roof. She poked her head out and stared. On first look, the guy didn't look out of place. Just a worker moving outside to get better Scroll reception. He turned around and Summer saw a large sword on his hip, and it looked like it had blood on it. That, or it was normally half red, half silver.

If this place wasn't it, there was definitely something shady going on here. Summer ducked under the half wall and took out her Scroll. She punched in Raven's number and waited for her partner to pick up. She didn't have to wait long. _"Summer, you got something?"_

"Yeah, there's a guy with a bloody sword over here that came out of a warehouse. I think I found it."

" _Okay. I'm on my way over. Lay low until I get there."_

"Got it." Summer ended the call and put her Scroll away. She poked her head over the roof again. The man still stood on the roof, but he no longer had his Scroll. He stared up at the sky with his arms crossed. "What are you waiting for, creepy guy?" Summer whispered to herself.

About a mile away, a Bullhead rose from between a few buildings. It flew toward the warehouse the creepy guy was standing on. Summer ducked her head so only her eyes poked over the half wall. The Bullhead rotated its engines and landed on top of the warehouse. The man with the sword boarded and the transport rose up again. Summer searched the transport for any registration or a serial number, but couldn't find anything. In fact, it looked clean enough to be right out of the factory. That couldn't be good.

A few minutes later, Raven showed up by Summer's side. "So where is this place?"

Summer gestured to the building in question. "The one with the tan roof door two buildings down."

"Okay, I'll call it in. Keep your eyes on it." Raven took out her own Scroll and backed away.

"Just so you know, the guy I told you about got on a Bullhead and left. He was the only one." Summer paused. "Raven, why was his sword bloody?"

Even though Raven wore her mask, Summer could see her partner scowl. "Remember what I said about the slave camps? They do some of the same stuff here, maybe worse."

Summer dipped her head. "I'm not going to like what I'm going to see, am I?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure you'll be the best sight those kids will have seen in who knows how long." Raven turned away and focused on her Scroll.

Summer once again focused on the building. If this really was the place…this could be bad. How many people were in there? How many Nevermores…would waiting now put some of those kids in danger? She'd seen documentaries on the slave camps. One minute people would be doing whatever. The next, they'd be on the firing line. But…they wouldn't do that to those they were trying to…sell, would they.

Raven crawled up next to Summer again. "The police here know. They'll have a SWAT team here in an hour and they're trying to get a few trustworthy Huntsmen in town here as well. I usually do these things at night, but I should still be able to handle it in the daylight.

"For now, we wait. When I give the signal, we go."

Summer nodded and laid flat against the roof. As the team sniper, she knew patience. She'd waited for hours for a pack of Grimm to come by, and a few criminals the few times she worked with the VPD. An hour was nothing.

In fact, it was significantly less than an hour. Raven patted Summer's back. "It's time, let's go."

"Okay then." Summer rose to a crouching position and gripped her Desert Falcon. "I've got your six."

"Stay focused. You'll know where you're needed most." Raven sprung up and jumped to the next roof. Summer followed right on her heels. They sprinted the distance to the next roof and jumped over the next gap.

Summer rolled and ended up kneeling on one knee with her borrowed weapon swinging across the roof. "Clear."

"We're not the police here." Raven walked to the roof's door and knelt by it. "No need to use those callouts." She forced a few pins into the lock on the door.

"Habit, at least we're still working with them." Summer sniffed the air. It smelled like an open sewer was nearby. "Raven, you smell that?"

Raven sniffed as well. "I'm getting used to it. That's the holding room." She pulled the door open and grabbed the hilt of her sword. "Follow me and stay quiet." Raven walked inside.

As Summer followed, the smell only got worse. She bit her lip. Hearing about those kids' condition was one thing. Seeing it was probably something else entirely. Raven stopped by a door and pressed her head against it. She held up a hand, then brought down all but two fingers. Summer nodded and she brought up her Desert Falcon. Raven frantically shook her hand then tapped where one of her ears hid behind her mask. Summer let her gun drop and nodded.

After another minute, Raven pushed open the door. The smell hit Summer like a Goliath. She turned her head away and shoved a hand beneath her mask to cover her nose. Yeah, that was a sewer. Summer shook her head, then followed Raven onto a catwalk in what looked like the main storage room.

Summer looked to the floor and gasped. Ten kids were chained to the wall, judging by the floor beneath them, they had to use the bathroom where they sat. As far as Summer could tell, they were all Faunus. Except…they were missing parts of them. An ear, and antler, part of a tail…one of them looked like they had a fresh wound on his arm.

Summer jumped off the catwalk and landed right in front of the injured boy. Taking another look around the room, he looked like the oldest one there. Even so, he couoldn't be more than ten. He looked up and his eyes widened. He struggled in his chains to back away, but he couldn't get far. Summer slowly took off her mask and let it drop to the floor. The boy stopped struggling, but the fear never left his eyes.

"Hey there." Summer knelt in front of the boy, ignoring what got on her leggings. She reached an arm out and caressed the boy's face. At first, he tried to pull away, but after a while, he leaned into it. "I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to get you _all_ out of here."

Summer focused on the lock on the chains holding the boy's arms. She set a hand on it and tried to keep her eyes from glowing as she forced a gale into the lock. Something inside clicked and the chains unhooked. The boy's hands fell to the ground. Summer moved to the chains on the boy's legs and did the same.

With all limb's freed, Summer grabbed one of the boy's hands and clasped it between both of hers. "I will be back to help with your arm, but I need to help the others." Summer left the boy and moved onto the next Faunus in line. She went through the same process with the next three Faunus, all of them girls.

As she was about to move on, the fourth kid she freed hugged Summer's right leg. She cried and buried her face in Summer's leggings. "Thank you."

Summer smiled and knelt down to meet the girl's eyes. "You're welcome." She moved to stand up, but then she _saw_ the girl. A bird Faunus missing part of her tail…She couldn't have been a year older than Yang. Summer leaned forward and brought the girl into a hug. The girl returned it immediately and cried into Summer's shoulder.

 _BANG!_ Summer released the girl and drew her Desert Falcon. She pointed at where the gunshot came from. Several more followed, but the door she stared at stayed closed. They all sounded like standard assault rifles, not huntsman weapons. The weapons fell silent, but Summer kept her weapon trained on the door.

When the shots didn't start up again, Summer continued getting the kids out of their chains. But with every single one, she couldn't help but see at least one of her little girls in those chains. She tried to keep a friendly smile on her face, but she didn't know if it turned out right. The kids followed her around, so she couldn't be doing too bad.

The last chains fell away Summer faced all the kids. "Okay, you're all going to the hospital after this, but I can help a few of you right now." She took off her temporary cape and ripped off a piece on the bottom. It wouldn't be the best tourniquet, but it would be better than nothing.

A few of the kids lined up, holding out arms, legs, or pointing to the stumps on their ears. Summer did the best she could with only scraps from her disguise cloak. But every time, the kids voiced their appreciation.

Summer heard a door open and she grabbed her gun again. She was ready to shoot anyone who came through the door. A blunderbuss stuck through the door followed by…Peter. The gun pointed in Summer's direction. "Drop your weapon…" Peter let his weapon fall and his overly bushy eyebrows rose. "Summer?" Barty followed his partner, the end of his thermos on fine. He also lowered his weapon.

Summer's heart sunk and she shook her head. "My name is Robin. I think you have me confused with something else." _Please run with it. Please run with it._

Barty straightened and nodded. "It appears so." He shifted his weapon back into thermos form. "What is the condition of all these children?"

"As best as I can tell, there's no broken limbs, but most have some sort of deep skin laceration and are missing an ear, tail, or what have you." Summer stood up and rested her hands on shoulders of two kids. "Take care of them. They've been through a lot." She retracted her hands and walked to where she dropped her mask. She picked it up and faced her former classmates. 'Not mine' she mouthed while pointing at it just before she fit it over her face.

Raven reentered the room from another door on the catwalk. "Come on, let's get going. The police have this handled." She looked down at Barty and Peter, both of whom gripped their weapons once more. "Your assistance has been appreciated. Don't follow me." She waved at Summer, then disappeared through the door they entered.

Summer walked toward what looked like a staircase. Before she climbed, she looked back at all the kids. She gave them all a small wave. "Be nice to these two. I believe they're good people." She faced the staircase again and climbed. Raven met her at the top. "Get me out of here. I think I'm going to be sick."

"You got it." Raven slashed her sword in front of her and a portal formed. She jumped through quickly followed by Summer. As soon as Summer's feet touched grassy ground, she ripped her mask off and lost her lunch. She stared at the ground. All she could see were each of the kids in chains…How could anyone treat a person like that? Much less kids?

A hand fell on Summer's back. "You see why I never asked you before?" Raven asked.

"Maybe." Summer wiped her mouth with an arm and shook her head. "How could anyone do this?"

"That's what people who only care about Lien look like. They don't care how they get it."

Summer looked up at her partner. Raven had since taken her own mask off. "Raven, I'm sorry I ever thought you did this only for the Lien."

"You're forgiven. I didn't give you any reason to believe otherwise."

Summer pushed herself off the ground and hugged her partner. "At least the kids are in good hands. You'd be surprised on how good Barty is with kids."

"You did all you could." Raven rubbed Summer's back. "The hospital will patch them up."

Summer sniffled and pulled back to look Raven in the eyes. "Raven, next time you go after these guys, call me. I can do so much more for those kids. I'll be more prepared next time."

* * *

 **I don't know if I can ask this, but I have a family member in the hospital, and it doesn't look good. If you are that kind of person, please pray for him.**


	10. Paranoia

**YES! TEAM FREEZERBURN IS BACK TOGETHER! (I don't actually ship Freezerburn at all. I'm just happy that…) TEAM RWBY IS REFORMING! YAY! DEM FEELS! Oh, and Ruby being the adorable leader trying to get everyone to get along...If anyone so much as scratches the cinnamon roll...**

* * *

Summer pushed the front door open. All lights were out in the house, and no one moved about. Then again, it was past midnight, and Tai wasn't expecting her back until, well, later in the day. Tai wasn't a morning person, but he typically didn't stay up late either. If he was still up this late, there was a problem.

Summer entered the house and closed the door behind her. She crept up the stairs, but instead of heading directly for the master, she stopped by her daughters' room. She pushed the door open and looked at the bed and the crib. Yang and Ruby were fast asleep, neither one making a sound. Summer smiled and she felt tears running down her cheeks. They were so peaceful, so innocent.

She walked over to Yang's bed and knelt by her oldest. "I love you, Yang." Summer brushed Yang's forehead and hair. "You are so beautiful." She leaned forward and kissed Yang's forehead. "I'm making the world safe for you, Phoenix. You won't have to worry about these guys."

Summer stood up and walked over to Ruby's crib. Her baby girl was so beautiful. When Summer looked through her own baby pictures, she saw one heck of a resemblance between her and Ruby. It looked like there _was_ another Rose clone on Remnant.

"Ruby," Summer caressed her youngest's head, "I hope you'll never have to face who I have. I want you to stay happy, stay you." She leaned forward and kissed Ruby's forehead. "I love you, Gem, and I'll do anything to protect you."

She pulled her hand away and left the room, instinctually flicking off the lights, even though they were never on. Summer approached the master and entered just as quietly. She only took off her white cloak, which she recovered from her hiding spot, and hung it on its normal hook. She crawled under the covers on her side of the bed and snuggled next to Tai. That was the first time she felt safe since leaving Raven's apartment. She closed her eyes and she drifted off to sleep.

…

Summer heard Ruby scream. She snapped her head upstairs to her baby girl's room. What happened this time? She ran up the stairs three at a time. She pushed the door open to the girl's room…and saw a longsword sticking out of Ruby's chest.

"No!" Summer rushed to her baby girl's side. She couldn't take the sword out. Ruby would lose too much blood. Summer put two fingers on Ruby's neck…no pulse. "No, no, no." She snapped her head over to Yang's bed. Blood ran like a waterfall off the side. Summer left Ruby's crib and checked on her oldest. Yang's throat had been slit.

Summer's legs gave out and she crumpled on the floor. Who would do this? How'd this happen? She rasied her head and looked to the sword sticking out of Ruby. There was a note on the hilt. Summoning the last of her strength, Summer forced herself to her feet and walked over to Ruby's crib. She tore the note off the sword and read it. 'This is what you get for messing with the Nevermores.'

Her legs gave out once again. No. This couldn't be happening! She took all the precautions! She made sure she wasn't followed! Raven would never give her up! Neither would Barty or Peter. How'd they find her? She checked herself for any kind of tracker. But there was nothing…Summer fell to the floor and curled into a ball. Her girls were dead, and it was all her fault.

She started shaking uncontrollably, like she was having a seizure. The rocks only got more intense as time went on. _"Summer!"_ Tai's voice echoed in the distance. _"Wake up!"_ The shaking grew more intense until she blacked out.

When she opened her eyes again, she stared up at Tai's concerned face. She felt sweaty, and that couldn't be from overheating. She saw frost forming on the walls. Her heart felt like it was trying to punch out her ribcage, and her breathing desperately tried to keep up.

Without really knowing what she was doing, Summer threw her arms around her husband. She buried her face in Tai's shoulder and cried hard. As soon as the tears left her face, they froze solid. Tai returned the hug and rubbed circles on Summer's back. Neither one said anything for a long time.

It took a while, but Summer got her emotions under control. She pulled away from her husband and wiped her eyes with a hand. "Sorry Tai. I didn't mean to wake you." Summer cut the unintentional flow of Aura and the room started heating up again.

"Whatever it was, it wasn't your fault." Tai paused. "Summer, what are you doing home? I thought you wouldn't be home until a lot later."

"I couldn't stay away." Summer hugged herself and shook her head. "I was out visiting Raven, and she brought up a Nevermore warehouse in Bullworth."

Tai's shoulders slumped. "Something you did there?"

"It wasn't even that." Summer let her head fall more. "What I saw there…it was terrible. What they did to those kids…how can anyone do that?"

"So you saw them?"

"No." Summer lifted her head and looked at Tai through the distortion of her tears. "I saw Yang and Ruby." Her head fell again and she leaned forward, with the top of her head pressing against Tai's chest. "If they find out I was there, they'll come after our girls. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't just disappear. They know how much I love them from when they spied on us when they were after Raven. They'd come after our girls until everyone on either side is dead.

Tai wrapped his arms around Summer again. "I suppose forgetting about it and never doing that again isn't an option."

"I can't." Summer shook her head, awkward as it was in her position. "Those kids are someone else' babies. They were all so scared. No one deserves to live like that, especially kids." She sniffed. "I would want someone to do the same if Ruby and Yang were ever in that place."

Neither one spoke for a while, until Tai finally said, "Okay. I'm not exactly thrilled, but I understand. Something tells me that I'd be in the same boat if I was there. If you ever need anything just ask. And if Ozpin says anything about this, I'll take him. You have too much to worry about already."

"I wasn't exactly asking before…but thank you." Summer adjusted her head so her chin rested on Tai's shoulder. Now this felt right. All that was missing was…

Summer watched and heard the doorknob jiggle. She froze in place. Who was here? Her girls were asleep. She took an arm off Tai's back and pointed it at the door. The door opened…but no one stood on the other side. Since when was the house haunted?

"Mommy?" Yang's voice asked. Summer jumped and dropped her arm. She lowered her gaze and saw Yang just inside the door. Ruby's head poked in beside her sister. Yang took another step in. "Mommy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Yang." Summer pulled away from Tai and wiped some of the tears from her eyes. "Mommy has nightmares too."

Both Ruby and Yang gasped, and it looked like both of them were about to cry. They exchanged a look, then Yang locked eyes with her mom. "Can we sleep with you?"

Summer bit back her own gasp, but she couldn't keep her eyes from watering again. She didn't even look at Tai to see if it was okay. "Yes. Yes, you can."

Yang and Ruby stepped fully into the room, and Yang closed the door behind them. The girls walked, or in Ruby's case waddled, to Summer's side of the bed. Yang crawled up herself and Summer lifted Ruby up onto the bed. When Summer turned around, Yang had already laid down by Tai's side, or more accurately almost on top of one of Tai's arms. She'd need to have a talk with her oldest about letting Ruby out of her crib without help, but that could wait until the sun was up for a few hours.

Summer laid down on her bed, trying not to squish either of her daughters. When her head hit her pillow, her girls attached themselves to either side of her, with their foreheads in perfect kissing range. "Good night, Phoenix. Good night Gem." She kissed both her girls' foreheads. From the sound and feel of it, both girls fell asleep as soon as Summer's lips left their skin.

She smiled over at Tai who was already returning the gesture. "What did we do to deserve such beautiful, loving girls?"

Tai shrugged. "The same thing we did to deserve to be on the same team at Beacon. _We're_ just too nice."

Summer giggled. "I can live with that."

* * *

"One of these days, ma'am," the cashier started, "you're going to have to tell me how you do that." He pointed at the bag that completely hid a paper towel roll that once stood taller than it.

"Hmmm, nope!" Summer popped the 'p' and picked up the bag. "It's not my secret to give. See you some other time." She left the store and turned toward Patch. On a normal day, she would have teleported to the top of a skyscraper and then to Patch, especially since she had frozens, but it was such a nice day outside. She'd still teleport once she got to the beach, but that could wait.

Summer made it about halfway out of the city when she saw something she didn't want to. A grown human man was kneeling in front of a Faunus girl. The girl looked like she had been crying. From this range, Summer couldn't judge the man's expression. It could just be someone comforting a lost child, but she'd seen too much lately to believe that was the case.

The man stood up and led the girl down an alleyway. That did it for Summer. She ran toward that alley, nearly dropping her groceries along the way. She turned into the alley at full speed, then snuck along the wall. She heard two voices up ahead, and one of them didn't sound nice. Summer dropped her bag where she stood and took a deep breath.

Summer walked down the alley and around a corner. The man now held a knife and one of the girl's bear ears. "Hey you!" Summer yelled. The man took his eyes of the girl. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

The kidnapper pointed his knife at Summer. "This doesn't concern you. If you leave now, I'll forget you were ever here."

"How about this," Summer drew Sun's Light and pointed it at the kidnapper, "you let her go right now, and I won't hand you your butt on a silver platter."

The man froze, then tried to bring his knife to the girl's throat. Summer launched herself forward and snatched that arm away. She grabbed the arm with both hands and threw the would-be kidnapper against a brick wall. If he had Aura, he'd be back up in seconds and might put up a fight. If not, he'd be out cold until the police arrived.

Seeing no movement at all, Summer took out her Scroll and dialed 119. A few dials later, someone picked up. _"119, what is your emergency?"_

"This is Huntress Summer Rose. I just stopped an attempted kidnapping in an alley about six blocks west of Hy-Dee. The kidnapper is out cold," Summer took her eyes off the unconscious form and looked at the girl, "and the girl is scared, but from the look of it, she's unharmed."

" _Okay Miss Rose. Officers will be dispatched to your location to apprehend the suspect. Stay on location until they arrive."_

"Copy that. No problem. I'll try to calm her down." Summer put away her Scroll and smiled at the girl. "Hey there."

The girl squeaked and retreated into a corner. "Stay away!" She shook like an earthquake.

Summer knelt down and set Sun's Light on the ground away from her. She reached into her cloak and pulled out a badge given to her by the Vale Police Department. _Please have good experiences with the police._ "It's okay. I'm one of the good guys. I'm not going to hurt you." The girl retreated further back into the corner. "What's your name?"

"…Rosie."

Bear ears, Yang's age... _Oh_ , _no, please tell me not_ _ **that**_ _Rosie._ "Do you know Yang?"

Rosie nodded. "She's my friend."

Summer smiled, even though it hurt. "I know her too. I'm her mommy."

Rosie stopped shaking and she looked up at Summer. "Ruby too?"

"Ruby too." Summer nodded. "I take it Yang talks about her?"

"A lot." Rosie stood up and walked to Summer. She wrapped her little arms around the huntress. "She says you give good hugs."

"Well, I don't like to brag," Summer hugged the scared little girl, "but I give the _best_ hugs." She rubbed small circles on Rosie's back, and the girl started shaking again. "It's okay. You're safe. The police are on their way. You'll be home soon."

"Don't leave." Rosie buried her face in Summer's chest.

"I won't. I'll be here until the police come. I'd take you home myself, but at this point, it's better for the police to take you. They're nice people." _And if they aren't, I'll be by your side until you can be dropped off._

In the few minutes it took for the police to arrive, Summer alternated between soothing Rosie and making sure the would-be kidnapper didn't wake up. When red and blue lights flashed down the alley, she pushed Rosie away and looked her in the eyes. "Well, the police are here. They'll take good care of you and get you home." She stood up, but kept a hand on Rosie's shoulder. "If you want to play with Yang, you're welcome to come over anytime. Just ask your mommy or daddy for permission first."

Rosie nodded. "Thank you."

The first officer walked around the corner with her weapon drawn. She looked around the area, then lowered her gun. The officer approached Summer. "We'll take it from here, Miss Rose." She looked down and smiled at Rosie. For the first time, Summer noticed the wolf tail pointing out of the officer's pants. A Faunus officer was probably the best-case scenario here.

"Need anything else from me at the moment?" Summer asked. "I've kind of got frozens in a bag you passed while coming down the alley."

The officer returned her attention to Summer. "You're going to need to give a statement. Another officer will take care of that." She placed a hand on Rosie's shoulder. "I have someone else to take care of." The officer escorted Rosie away.

A few more entered the area, two of them approached the downed criminal, and a familiar one walked up to Summer. The officer approaching Summer sighed. "How many times are we going to meet like this?"

"Like this, hopefully not too many." Summer's smile disappeared as soon as Rosie walked out of sight. "I know it's not protocol, but I would _really_ appreciate it if I wasn't mentioned in any official reports. I've run into these guys a few times before, and I'd rather not have them know who I really am."

The officer raised an eyebrow. "May I ask why?"

"It's undercover work. That's all I'm allowed to say."

"Okay…Huntress that I've never met before. Can you tell me what happened here?"

Summer proceeded to answer every question the officer had, without incriminating her or Raven. But for the first time, she said who was behind this attack, and several more across the Kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo. People everywhere would know about the Nevermores. Hopefully none of this would be traced back to her. If anything did…well, she hadn't lived in Mistral since she lived with her mom. It might be nice to go back to where she grew up.

With the 'interview' finished, Summer picked her groceries and teleported to the top of one of the nearby buildings, then directly to Patch. She needed to get home and get the ice cream in the freezer…and make sure no one had the house under surveillance. After a few more missions with Raven, and a couple on her own, she was getting paranoid that one of _them_ would find her. So far, nothing had happened, and hopefully it would stay that way.

Summer made it to the house and stopped at the mailbox. She opened it and pulled out the mail. An envelope with a black feather sticking out of it sat on top of the stack, with a bulge on one end. That was weird. Usually if Raven had something to say, she'd say it in person. Tai and Qrow must not be home. There was also something from Barty, probably another question about her involvement in the whole thing.

Shrugging, Summer continued toward the house. She searched the tree line for anything out of the ordinary. Luckily, nothing stuck out. Summer put on a smile before she entered the house. No need to let her girls know what was going on in her head. She pushed open the door. "Girls, I'm home!"

"Mommy!" both girls yelled at the same time. Summer didn't see them, but she heard two things hit the floor by the couch. Her girls ran around and too their mom. Summer set the mail and her bag down and opened her arms to receive her girls. Ruby and Yang ran into their mom at full speed.

Summer trapped both her girls in her arms, then kissed both their foreheads. "Good to see you two too." She focused her gaze on her youngest. "And how's my birthday girl doing?"

"Good!" Ruby chirped. "Yang teached me how to sing!"

"Did she now?" Summer turned to her oldest.

Yang nodded as fast as a bobble head. "Yeah! She's good too!"

"Really?" Summer booped Ruby's nose, making her giggle. "You're going to have to show me when daddy and Uncle Qrow get home, and before we go trick or treating." She stood up and hefted her bag. "Now I've got ice cream in here, and it's been in here a while. I need to get it in the freezer." She walked into the kitchen and both girls followed close behind.

Summer set the bag on the table and froze just before opening it. She did run a bit with the bag swinging. This could be bad when she opens this up. "Um, girls, could you go wait in the other room? This could get messy."

Yang nodded and grabbed Ruby's arm. She practically had to drag Ruby out. "But…ice cream…" Ruby whined.

Summer took a deep breath as she pinched the zipper in between her fingers. "Fire in the hole!" She opened the zipper as fast as she could. A can shot out of the bag and smashed into Summer's face. It actually had enough force to knock her to the ground. From her new position, she saw things erupting out of the bag like a volcano. Something fell right toward her face and she barely caught it. She stared at the label for Jemps Neapolitan ice cream, Ruby's favorite.

She waited until everything sounded like it settled. "All clear!" Summer stood up and put the ice cream in the freezer before Ruby saw it. Both girls came in and looked at the destruction. "Could you two help put all this stuff in a pile?"

"But…it's my birthday," Ruby whined.

"Ruby," Summer used her mom voice, "what have I said about talking back?"

Ruby's head slumped. "Okay…"

Summer smiled as both her girls picked up the groceries nearest to them. She would have just as soon done everything herself, but she wanted her girls to learn to help others out. Hopefully they would help out in the future. Then again, with how Yang acted without much prodding, that wouldn't be a problem. That, and this was probably preferable to actual chores.

When all groceries were put away, Summer sat down and looked at the mail. She opened the letter from Raven first. Something had to be going on for Raven to contact her like this. Summer pulled out the letter and read it over.

 _Summer, have you been going after these guys alone? There's too much in our account for the one's that we've done together. If you are, be careful. Don't give them enough to find you and the girls._

 _Also, I saw that Yang has gotten into Flame Wheel cars. I hope she'll like the one in here._

As with the other few times Raven sent letters like that, she didn't sign it. Summer pulled out the mentioned Flame Wheel car, and a note with the amount of Lien in the bank account she and Raven now shared. It had grown by more than twenty thousand since the last time she and Raven went on a mission together. She still needed to figure out what to do with her cut. The reward for finding the kids, she readily accepted. If there was anything for finding the Nevermores themselves…Summer didn't know what to do. Those kids and their families deserved that Lien, not her. The problem was she didn't have any way of finding out how to find that out, or donate anonymously. Summer sighed. Maybe charities? Maybe that would work.

Summer looked at the clock. It was almost four. Tai and Qrow would be back from Signal soon, and there would go her possible quiet time while baking the cake. Might as well get started.

* * *

 **Continuing from last week, thank you for the support for my grandpa. He's doing a lot better now. But we still don't know what's wrong.  
**


	11. Unmasked

**PROTECT! Protect the concentrated purity that is Ruby Rose! Protect the only full living set of good parents on the show! None of them must die! Who is willing to be their bodyguards? Odds are more people than those willing to defend Haven.  
**

* * *

"Take care of yourself, Amby." Summer hugged Amber once more, which was happily returned. "I love you, Amber."

"I love you too, Auntie Summer." Amber squeezed a little more before pulling away. "Are you going to visit more?"

"Yep! I might even take Ruby and Yang. I'm sure you'd get along well."

Amber nodded. "Well, I do like little kids."

"Just don't call them that. Yang won't care that you're twice her age. Both of them think they're big girls." Summer giggled. "But between you and me, they'll always be my little girls." Amber added her own giggles to the mix.

Cherry rested a hand on Amber's shoulder. "Come on Amby, let's head home."

Amber and Summer hugged once more, then separated. Summer stood up and waved as her 'other family' walked away. "Bye! See you soon."

"Bye!" Amber waved back, and the conference room door closed behind her.

Summer sighed and turned the other way. She pulled out her Scroll as she left on the opposite side of the room. One of her favorite bakeries was having a sale that day. No one back home would mind, especially not Ruby. Hopefully the place wasn't out of the strawberry topped cookies that Ruby loved so much. They always ran out of those, along with Yang's frosted.

She left the CCT and walked for the parking lot. Summer still couldn't believe on this walk nearly five years ago, she learned that Raven was in labor… "Geez, it's almost been five years. I've got to start thinking about a party." She shook her head as she made it to the parking lot.

Bumblebee wasn't as fast as he was back then because of Summer's modifications, but every visit to Beacon since, she opened up the throttle on the Beacon Speedway. It always felt so nice, especially when she could knock some guys down a peg or three. This time, there were a couple of sports cars on the side of the road. One of them had a bumper laying on the ground. That's what they get for tailgating…Then again, Summer couldn't really talk since she was driving at a hundred miles an hour.

City roads proper appeared at the end of the road and Summer slowed down. She turned down a few roads until the bakery came into view. She parked at a meter about a block away and put in an appropriate amount of Lien into the meter. With that ensuring she wouldn't get a ticket, she approached the bakery.

About halfway there, someone walked into her shoulder, and it looked and felt like it was on purpose. On instinct, Summer reached for where her wallet rested. She still had it, and it was on the other side from where the guy hit. Summer turned around to face him, and felt something beneath her foot. She looked down and saw a face down envelope. Summer rolled her eyes. What kind of pickpocket failed that badly? She bent down and picked up the envelope.

Before she took a step toward the man, she noticed _her_ name on the envelope. Summer blinked and tried to pick the guy out in the crowd, but he already disappeared. She stared at the envelope, worry growing inside her. Qrow said he'd gotten a few mission offers like this before, but that was Qrow, not Summer. There was also the fact that Summer had raided the last two Nevermore warehouses on her own…No. Summer left no clue to who she was, did she?

Summer hurried to the bakery and sat at one of the tables inside. She opened the envelope and pulled out what was inside. Her eyes widened and her heart sank. "No…" She stared in horror at a picture of Yang helping Ruby up to the cookie jar. It would have been normal, except for the window frame at the edges of the picture.

She flipped through more pictures, each new one cuter, yet more terrifying. Ruby on a trike with Yang on her bike, Ruby sticking up a thumb toward Tai, Yang showing Qrow a drawing of a Beowolf…both girls sleeping on Summer's lap, with Summer kissing Ruby's forehead.

There was no escaping it now. The Nevermores knew who she was. They had to leave.

Summer pulled out the last thing in the envelope, a written letter. More than Raven got. She opened the trifold and read the notice.

 _You have been a thorn in our side for too long 'Robin,' more than anyone else. Even your partner kept us out of the news. You need to go. I am a businessman, Summer Rose, so I'll make you one last proposition. Come to these coordinates alone by midnight Vale time, and your home won't be turned into a crater. If you attempt to warn the occupants in any way, my men will advance._

Summer dropped the piece of paper, but otherwise didn't move. She physically couldn't, not with everything going on in her head. She couldn't see anything past the lakes forming in front of her eyes. That recurring nightmare was becoming a reality. She covered her mouth with a hand. "Ruby…Yang…"

She snatched the pictures and note off the table, jumped out of her chair and sprinted outside. She looked east and started teleporting. There was only one person who could help her now, and she was moving apartments for the third time. Summer _needed_ to get to Raven before she left for good. It would be another week before Raven gave her the new address.

Summer found herself teleporting faster and farther than ever before. She made it to the border village in record time. She ran for Raven's apartment building. People stared at the 'newcomer' to their village. Summer paid them no mind. As long as these people weren't on the Nevermore's payroll and they didn't try to stop her.

She made it to the building and stormed up the stairs. She body slammed the door to Raven's apartment to avoid slowing down. Raven stood in front of a portal, with one foot already through. "RAVEN!" Summer yelled as loud as she could.

Raven turned back and half drew her sword. When she locked eyes with Summer, her mouth hung open and she stepped fully into her apartment. The portal closed behind her. "Summer, what-"

"They know!" Summer fell to her knees, but she held the pictures and note out to her partner. "They're going to kill them if I'm not dead by midnight."

Raven narrowed her eyes and turned around. She sliced a new portal open and wrapped a hand under Summer's shoulders. "Come on." She hauled Summer through the portal and into a heavily wooded area. The portal closed and Raven grabbed both her partner's shoulder. "There's a reason I'm moving Summer. The Nevermores had that place under surveillance. We have to hope that they moved on, or else we're in big trouble. Summer, what's going on?"

Summer raised the threat mail again. "This. Someone rammed into me on the street and dropped this."

Raven took the pictures and the note. As she looked through them, her eyes flashed from fear to anger to hate and back again. "This isn't good."

"No…" Summer's head fell. "Raven, what do I do?"

"There's not much you can do." Raven pulled Summer to her feet and grasped onto her arms. "You go to wherever these coordinates lead and kick their teeth in."

"But what if this isn't where their big wigs are? What if this is just a trap set up to kill me? What will happen to our girls?"

"I'll get them out. I'll contact Qrow, he'll get to Ozpin. Our girls will be safe."

Summer's head fell. "I have no idea where this place is. What if I can't get there in time?"

"You know how to use Tootle, right? You can put coordinates in there and it will tell you what's there."

"How will I fight them? I can't-"

Raven slapped the side of Summer's face. Summer stared open mouthed at her partner. Why would she do that? "Summer Rose, stop saying you can't! You are the single most capable Huntress I have ever met. You have taken on threats that no one else did, or could. That's without using your full strength. You are the Winter Maiden. They can't hope to stop you unless they have a Maiden of their own. If anyone can fight these guys and put them down for good, it's you. I can take care of our girls. You need to be the one who hands these guys their asses on a silver platter."

Summer's head drooped once more and she clenched her fists. This wasn't like her. She could take on anything that stood in her way. She led team STRQ through the Vytal Festival Tournament, and came out on top. She took out a Goliath like it was nothing. She was baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. She needed to win, because if she didn't, her girls would be without their mother.

Summer rose her head and looked Raven in the eyes. "If there's so much as a scratch on either of our girls, I'm taking one of your arms."

"If there's a scratch on either of them, it's because they managed to kill me, Qrow, and whoever Ozpin sends to help." Raven stuck an arm out. "See you on the other side, partner."

Summer grasped Raven's forearm. "Right back at you, sis." Raven blinked and Summer smirked. "I thought you'd have figured that out by now, with you being from a tribe. Family runs thicker than blood."

Raven hesitated, then nodded. "I guess I needed to hear it first." She released her grip on Summer's arm. "You should be able to connect to the CCT from here. Find where that place is."

"Got it." Summer whipped out her Scroll. She entered the coordinates on the note into the search bar. It took a while to load, but it came up. "Fort Castle." She looked to her partner.

Raven had a portal already open with a leg already through. She nodded at Summer. "I'll head your way when the house is clear." She stepped fully through her portal and disappeared.

Summer faced east like her Scroll told her to. It wouldn't take her the whole way there, but it was enough to point her in the right direction. "Time to clip some wings." She looked up and began the first of many teleportations. It was going to be a long trip.

* * *

As soon as the portal closed behind her, Raven took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, Raven. Don't worry. Summer's going to kick their asses. Qrow and Tai can take care of Yang. There's no need to worry…unless they're already on the move."

Raven fished out her seldom used Scroll and punched in Qrow's number. As she waited for her brother to pick up, she opened another portal, bringing her that much closer to Patch. Hopefully the place on the other side had CCT coverage.

The line clicked. _"Raven,"_ Qrow started, _"didn't expect to hear from you like this again."_

"Save it, Qrow. The Nevermores found Summer out." Raven waited to open the next portal. The next place was definitely in a CCT dead zone.

Raven heard something shift on the other side. _"What? How bad is it?"_

"If she's not dead by the end of the day, Ruby and Yang will be. I'm guessing that the house is already under surveillance, considering the note said if Summer warned you or Tai, Ruby and Yang wouldn't last till midnight."

" _Shit! I'm at Signal right now. I'll get home as soon as I can."_ The line clicked again and went dead.

Raven once again focused on traveling. Each portal moving her dozens of miles closer to the house, but it wasn't enough. She needed to get home as soon as possible. This way wasn't fast enough. She stopped after the next portal and concentrated her Aura. In her mind, she saw the western beach on Patch, the farthest from the house. She slashed a new portal open with a massive drain on her Aura. If this one didn't get her to Patch, it would at least take her farther than she'd ever gone before at once.

She jumped through and for the first time, Raven didn't immediately end up on the other side. Red and black flashed before her eyes and her stomach pulled a one-eighty. Seconds later, a portal spit her out above a beach. She kicked her feet beneath her and landed in the sand. She cut the Aura flow to her portal as she caught her breath. That took more out of her than she thought possible.

Raven stood up and turned around. The city of Vale sat a few miles away on the mainland. That meant Raven actually made it to Patch. If her little girl's life wasn't in danger, she might have celebrated on the spot.

Instead, she faced the forest and jumped into the air. Details on the foliage popped and everything appeared to grow in size. In reality, Raven had shrunk as she took her raven form. She flew over the forest and searched the ground beneath her for anything that didn't belong. For once, the few Grimm she saw didn't disturb her. They weren't actively trying to kill Yang.

As she neared the clearing that team STRQ's home base sat, Raven saw a familiar crow flying toward her. Both birds stopped feet from each other. They nodded, then flew in separate directions. Raven flew below the canopy for a better look. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.

She flew around to the back of the house and saw one of the people she hoped she wouldn't. A man laid prone in the bushes, with a large sniper rifle pointed at the house. Raven scowled as best as her beak would allow, then continued on. She needed to find where all these bastards were and take them out all at once. They couldn't alert anyone.

Raven continued her search but didn't find anyone else. That didn't mean Qrow didn't find anything. She flew toward the house and landed on the roof. Qrow flew in from the other side and landed across from his sister. They chittered and chirped at each other, and Raven sighed. Just two bastards to deal with. Any more, and there could have been a big problem.

They separated again and flew toward the snipers they found. Raven landed on a branch above the guy she found. She glared down at the bastard and waited for Qrow's call. It came over all other forest noise and Raven jumped from the trees and transformed back into a human. She came down with a foot landing on one of the sniper's arms. The bastard screamed, but he couldn't fire.

"Hey, bitch." Raven kicked the guy's face hard enough to flip him onto his back. "My friend let me know that you were trying to kill her family. I can't let you do that." The guy reached for a knife on his belt, but Raven stepped on that hand. Raven drew her sword and pointed the tip at the attempted murderer's neck. She thrust her sword forward…

…but stopped it less than an inch from burying it in the guy's skin. Summer would not want this. She would probably get furious with Raven. Disappointed Summer was bad enough. She didn't need to know what mad Summer looked like. Plus, Ruby and Yang could have come to the windows on the side of the house facing her. They didn't need to know all this at such a young age.

Instead, Raven flipped her sword around and smashed the hilt into the sniper's face. The bastard's breathing slowed and his eyes closed. Raven slung the unconscious sniper over her shoulder and walked through the trees around the house. If all went to plan, she'd meet Qrow halfway around.

As expected, her brother showed up with another guy over his shoulder. "Any problems?" he asked.

"None. This guy was a push over." Raven turned to an open space and got an image of the Vale police department in her head. She slashed her sword and a portal opened. She threw her attempted murderer in. "Take care of these bastards. I need to back up Summer."

"Where is she, anyway?" Qrow asked, stepping up to the portal.

"Apparently Fort Castle."

Qrow snapped his head to Raven. "Fort Castle? That explains a lot."

"What's going on?"

"Barty was a guest lecturer at Signal today. He said Fort Castle was abandoned in a hurry after the Faunus War. The Faunus didn't take much with them to Menagerie, and the Valan military hasn't touched the place either. Fort Castle may very well be fully loaded. Summer's walking into a trap that even she might not be able to come out of."

Raven grimaced and pointed at the portal. "Get through there so I can get to Summer." Qrow nodded and stepped through. Raven let that portal die and quickly formed a new one. She jumped through and began the whole process over again. She'd never been to Fort Castle, so she couldn't just go right there. But she knew where it was. It wasn't exactly a secret. It wasn't a tourist trap only because it was deep in Grimm territory.

When she reached what she believed was halfway there, a Bullhead caught her eye. It was flying exactly from where Raven was going toward and where she came from. It could have been a coincidence…but there were no large settlements in that direction. The southern coast was never really settled, even before the great war. Everything was on the inner sea or the northern coasts.

Raven turned into a bird again for the better eyesight. The Bullhead was a military variant, with a gun beneath the chin and a missile under each wing. Well, if the Nevermores still had connections in Bullworth, odds were they could get this kind for the price of civilian models. But she searched for any identifying markings of the Vale or even Vacuo military, but saw nothing. There weren't even any license strips or serial numbers. If whoever was flying that weren't Nevermores, they still weren't law abiding citizens.

Raven turned back into a human as the Bullhead flew directly above her. Now came the tricky part. She _could_ make moving portals, but none had moved that fast, or needed as much precision. Well, there was a first time for everything. In this case, there needed to be.

She swung her sword in front of her and a portal opened. A corresponding one opened near the rear of the Bullhead, but it barely moved. Still, Raven ran through and tried to grab onto one of the Bullhead's tailfins. Her hand missed and she fell toward the ground. She opened another portal beneath her and fell through. This time, she came within inches of the transport, but she still couldn't get a grip.

Before Raven could open another portal, the Bullhead changed course. At first, Raven thought it was permanently turning. But then it turned back the other direction. It started juking all over the place. Raven grimaced. As if it wasn't hard enough already to get on there. At least the gun on the bottom was fixed in place.

Raven lost count of the tries to get onto the Bullhead. The chase took her most of the way back to Patch until she finally landed on top of the transport. This would make things easier. She laid on the roof of the transport and sliced the air in front of her. She pushed off the roof and launched herself through the portal and into the crew compartment.

She latched onto one of the bars hanging from the ceiling and let the portal close behind her. There weren't any goons in the area, but there had to be at least one person in the cockpit. She jumped inside and threw a vicious right hook at the pilot's seat, not even bothering to check if it was occupied. Her fist hit what felt like a jaw and the transport tilted to the side. Raven heard a yelp on the other side and she slammed her left fist into that guy's stomach.

With both hostiles eliminated, Raven tore the pilot out of the seat and sat in it herself. She pulled the stick to the right and the Bullhead leveled out. After that, she stared at the controls. "Okay, now how do I fly this thing?" She could have just kept using portals, but this thing most likely had an active radio or something along those lines. Any info she could get was better than nothing. "Well, I've always liked learning on the job." She pushed the stick to the right and the Bullhead curved in that direction. Maybe flying this wouldn't be too difficult.

* * *

 **It's on...and this fic is almost over. Only a few more weeks until we're back in the...normal timeline...I need to think of a name for this series...  
**


	12. Protection

**Is anyone else extremely disappointed in canon Raven? My gosh, she goes on and on about strength, but preys on those who can't defend themselves, and she's hiding from Salem. She's a coward...At least it's 100% confirmed that she and Qrow are actually birds...I've got to figure out if I can keep that with what I have planned or not.  
**

 **Also, Qrow, find Heather Shields and bring her back to her adorable baby girl! DO IT!**

 **Also also, YES! RUBY YANG AND WEISS ARE BACK TOGETHER! GIVE _ALL_ THE HUGS! _ALL_ THE FEELS! RT did that well. Just Blake's missing, but something tells me the team RWBY group hug is going to be after Yang punches Blake in the face.**

 **Now, the chapter many of you have been looking forward to and dreading at the same time.**

* * *

Summer stared at Fort Castle and tried to keep her heart rate down. The place was lit up like a concert hall in downtown Vale. The Nevermores must not be concerned about keeping a low profile. Anyone within a dozen miles would be able to see the beacon in the night. Then again, they would probably kill or capture anyone that got close. For once, Summer fell into that category.

She took out her Scroll and looked at the most recent pictures of her girls. Ruby fell asleep on Yang's lap just that morning, and Yang did the same soon after. Summer caressed her girls cheeks on the Scroll. She bit her lips as a dark thought crossed her mind. "If something happens to me, please take care of each other you two. Love each other. Have each other's backs...I love you two so much." She closed her eyes and shut down her Scroll. She had to concentrate. This was the most important mission of her life. She couldn't fail.

The Nevermores knew she was coming. Was it better to spring their trap the way they wanted, or did she go in the way they least expected? Both had their advantages. Which one would be better?...Which would they least expect, and thus have the least weapons pointed at her?

Her mind made up, Summer teleported closer to the old fortress. She ended up in the tree line about a mile away from the outer wall. All around her, divots from decades old artillery shells and other explosions littered the ground. Some trees grew in the holes. Jagged metal stuck out of others. It was amazing this place wasn't scavenged any more.

Summer peeked out from behind a tree and looked at the outer walls. Large horizontal slits lined the wall, most likely housing all kinds of weaponry, or at least they did at one point in time. On either side of the main gate, large vertical slits housed the largest cannons ever constructed. The slugs those things fired could punch clean through anything Atlas could throw at it. Hopefully those were offline, not that they were a threat to Summer, but no criminals should have that kind of power.

"Okay, Summer," she breathed, "This is either the best or worst plan you've had. Just go in there and take them out. Freeze the hole place." She took out her Scroll and checked the reception. She didn't even get one bar. Vale would learn about this place when this was over.

She gripped Sun's Light's hilt and stepped out from behind her tree. She walked toward the gates, not looking back. Several spotlights spun and shone directly on her. Several shouts came from the wall, but as of yet, no one fired on her. Still, Summer felt numerous guns pointed right at her. She paid them no mind. If she wanted, she could freeze all those slits in foot thick ice with the swipe of a hand. But it was best to save her secrets until the main fight.

The gates creaked and swung inward. Summer took another deep breath as she strode forward. Might as well scare these guys. She couldn't show any fear. Movement along the courtyard walls caught her eyes. Several people carried massive guns, even though some of them looked like Faunus War antiques. No weapons pointed at her over the walls, but that would come. Hopefully some of these guys had to reposition.

Summer stared up to where she thought the old general would stand during a battle. One man in black armor stood behind a podium. That had to be the guy in charge. "Well, I'm here!" Summer threw both her arms up. "Alone! Do What you want with me, but do _not_ hurt my family!" She hoped no one noticed the slight shake in her voice.

The man behind the podium laughed, and it echoed through speakers all around the courtyard. "You stupid girl." His voice boomed all around Summer. "I was never going to let your family live."

Summer stiffened and let her arms fall to her side. "What?!" She reached into her cloak and grabbed Sun's Light's hilt, but didn't draw it. She let her Aura build up, but kept it from leaking out through her eyes.

"If your kids turn out like their parents and uncle, they will come searching for answers. I can't have that. Don't worry though, they won't be taken here. We don't take human prisoners. Their deaths will be quick."

That did it. Summer drew Sun's Light and switched it to sniper form. "Cowards!" Her Aura built up even more to the point of bursting.

"Maybe. The difference is, this coward will survive and profit." With those last words, the Nevermores along the walls sprang up and aimed their weapons at Summer.

Big mistake. They gave their positions away.

Summer let her Maiden's Aura burst forth. The area directly in front of her lit up even more from the light from her eyes. A gale blew from behind Summer, and a blizzard would soon follow. "Like hell, you will!" She fired one shot at the man behind the podium, then teleported up there before any shots could be fired at her.

She turned around and faced the north wall. She stuck two fingers straight up and ran them along the wall. A thick ice barrier formed as her fingers passed, blocking that much more turret fire. Summer repeated the action on the south wall. With most of the heavy firepower made irrelevant, she could focus on individuals.

Summer returned her attention to who she thought was the boss. She hauled the guy to his feet. "Call off your men."

"I can't do that," The bastard laughed. "Besides, it's already done."

Summer's heart plummeted, but she tried not to let it show. "Well too bad for you." He had an active Aura, so her next action shouldn't kill him. Summer heaved the man in a circle before throwing him into the court yard several dozen feet below.

Gunshots came from her left and she felt her Aura on that side drain. Summer teleported away then faced her assailants. Three men with V4s. Piece of cake. She teleported again and elbowed the first man in the gut. She switched Sun's Light back to sword form and sliced at the other two. Both of them fell to the ground with deep bloody canyons on their chests.

Summer hesitated as she stared at what she just did. She hadn't killed anyone after her first time. Summer shook her head and turned away. She couldn't dwell on that. It was them or her baby girls.

A grenade fired behind her. Summer dove out of the way and once again switched Sun's Light's form. She fired three shots at the grenadier as the grenade exploded. All three shots connected and spurts of red came out the guy's back.

Something connected with the back of her head and knocked her on her face. Summer rolled to the side just as something slammed into the ground where she just was. Judging from the divot, it was from a high caliber sniper rifle. She rolled again and fired a few shots in that direction. But there was no one there.

Summer jumped to her feet and switched Sun's Light to a sword again. Either this sniper was good at hiding, or he was a Huntsman. She listened for anything else. Several footsteps came from her right and she faced them. Five guys with assault rifles and shotguns ran at her from the south side. She gave each of them one bullet a piece, and four of them fell. Summer aimed at the chest of the last guy and fired once more.

Something slammed into her side and sent her flying over the wall. Summer teleported, kicked her legs beneath her and landed in a roll. She stared up to where she got knocked off. A man in purple and red robes held an over large sniper rifle and aimed it at Summer.

She didn't give him a chance to fire. Summer grew an ice wall beneath the sniper. But instead of flinging him back like intended, he flipped forward in to the courtyard. In the air, he fired a shot at Summer's outstretched arm. It connected and Summer drew her arm back into herself. That thing took a lot out of her Aura.

The sniper landed next to the boss, who had since obtained a katana. Summer recognized that blade, the same one she saw get on a transport in Bullworth. This guy was going down.

"Let's see if you can hit what you can't see." Summer held her hands out to her sides and summoned a blizzard. The wind picked up to hurricane force and snow appeared out of nowhere. The temperature plummeted to the point where frost formed on the concrete before the snow touched down. Normal people wouldn't be able to see a foot in front of them, but Summer saw threw her own blizzard as clearly as freshly cleaned glass.

Summer ran forward and smashed into the boss. She stabbed one of his arms while he was down. This time, no Aura blocked the attack. She pulled her sword out and searched for the sniper. The guy wasn't where he should have been. Was he a teleporter too? A speedster? A…an invisible man? Summer switched up what she was looking for, air pockets in the snow. She saw one that looked incredibly human shaped.

Engaging the sniper normally would lead to a longer fight. Instead, Summer pointed Sun's Light at the man and used it to channel her Aura. Snow from all over rushed at the sniper and new ice formed around him. His feet froze to the ground facing away from Summer. He tried to turn around, but the ice rose too fast. In seconds, the sniper was completely frozen in foot thick ice. He wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

As Summer looked around the courtyard for any more targets, she noticed how much the blizzard was draining her Aura. Not using her Maiden Magic to this extent in years drained her more than she thought it would. She cut the flow to the blizzard, but the snow currently in the air didn't stop moving.

She faced the front gate. That could be an an opportunity. She held her hands out in front of her and an ice ball formed and grew to the size of a Goliath. When Summer was satisfied, she threw it at the gate. Ice met metal and stone, and the gate broke outward. Let the Grimm in. For once. they could be Summer's ally.

Summer looked up to the walls. Her ice barriers were holding, and dozens of riflemen stood on the wall that held the podium. Summer drew Sun's light and aimed up at them. Some of them would fall in one shot, others would have Aura. None of them would leave Fort Castle as free men.

As she pulled the trigger the first time, something big slammed into her back and exploded. Summer flew forward and skidded on her face on one of the few patches of bare concrete. That one hurt. She felt her Aura was about to break. She couldn't take another one. _What was that? A grenade? Rocket?_ She pushed herself off the ground and faced where that shot came from. One man stood on top of the wall over the gate and was frantically reloading a rocket launcher. She raised Sun's Light and fired a shot. It connected and the man stumbled out of sight. His weapon fell off the wall and into the courtyard.

Summer returned her attention to those lining the wall. It was so nice of them to be lined up like that. She swept a hand over her head and the men on the wall were blown into the courtyard. Some crumpled on landing, never to rise again, others rolled over and struggled to get off the ground.

A few of them grabbed their weapons and pointed them at Summer. Before they could do anything, Summer teleported behind them and knocked their legs out from under them. She froze them in place and turned around-

-just in time to see a shotgun pointing at her head. It fired and knocked her to the ground. Summer felt her Aura break. She couldn't take any more hits like that, or else she'd never hear Ruby and Yang laugh again.

She swung Sun's Light at her assailant's legs, but she didn't cut through. Summer looked up and stared at the boss, bloody shoulder and all. How did his Aura come back so quick? He must have been one of those with weak Aura overall, but it grew back quickly, like Barty.

The boss lifted his katana and swung it down. Summer rolled out of the way just in time and sprang to her feet. "Why won't you die?" the boss growled. He hefted his shotgun with his good arm.

Summer sidestepped the shot. "I could ask you the same thing." She charged and swung Sun's Light at the man. Her sword cut clean through the shotgun. The boss tried to parry with his katana, but Summer knocked that away as well. She kicked the man in the stomach then brought her weapon's hilt to his forehead. He crumpled to the ground, hopefully for the last time. Even though Summer didn't see his Aura break, he shouldn't get up from that for a while.

She turned around, looking for anyone still standing. No one moved in the courtyard, and there wasn't any movement that she could see. Maybe they- "AHHH!" Summer screamed as she felt something tear into the right side of her face. She dropped her weapon and covered the spot with both hands.

Summer pulled a hand away and stared at her red hand. Why was it off center? She closed her left eye and saw nothing. Her heartrate sped up. She just lost an eye. No depth perception. She couldn't teleport.

Another gun fired and something slammed into her back. She screamed again and fell onto her face. That hurt more than anything before…but not as bad as she expected. She tried to get her feet underneath her, but she couldn't. In fact…she couldn't feel her legs at all.

 _Oh no…Raven please get here soon._ Summer crawled away from her spot and toward the gate. The hole she opened earlier might be her only chance of survival. If she could get through there, she might escape.

She didn't make it a dozen feet before someone stepped on her back. Summer's arms couldn't keep her upright and she faceplanted in the snow. This was it… _My babies..._

Someone kicked her over and she stared up at the boss. He held Sun's Light in a shaky hand. _No one_ held her weapon without her permission. She would train her girls with it if they wanted. Sun's Light was _not_ to be handled by criminals. She rose her left hand and she drew on whatever Aura she had left to try and freeze the bastard. Before the temperature dropped a degree, her blade was thrust into her shoulder. She grunted, and that arm fell to the ground. She didn't have anything left.

"How does it feel to be killed with your own weapon?" The boss boasted.

Summer caught a tremor in his voice. Maybe she didn't completely lose after all. She turned her head to the side and spit out a gob of blood. "How's it feel to have most of your operation to be dismantled by one Huntress?" She smirked. Maybe she had some fight in her after all.

The boss growled and pulled Sun's Light out of Summer's shoulder. "Any last words, witch."

Now Summer's resolve left her. She leaned her head back in her snow. The blanket beneath her was extraordinarily comfortable. "Yang…" Her Phoenix flashed before her eyes, smiling and laughing at something her mom said. "Ruby…" Her baby girl took Yang's place, always wide eyed and happy, attached to either Yang's or Summer's side. "I'm sorry." She faintly saw Sun's Light coming for her eye…

Everything went black. Summer couldn't breathe, but nothing hurt. In fact, she didn't feel anything at all. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew _something_ was. She could still think. She remembered everything. Was this purgatory? Or had the light at the end of the tunnel not come into view yet? This was…strange. Shouldn't something be happening?

All at once, her feeling came back. Cool grass caressed her face and arms. Summer slowly opened her eyes. They told her the same thing her skin did. She was lying in a grassy field…somewhere. Nothing on her body screamed in pain. She moved her legs from side to side and felt them skimming on the grass. Summer closed her left eye, and could still see. She sighed. It was all a dream. But…why did she pass out in a clearing?

Then she heard intense crying, and it sounded very familiar. "Ruby?" Summer pushed herself off the ground and stood up. She looked around the area. From the look of it, she was on Patch, not too far away from the house. She ran in that direction as fast as she could. Her baby girl needed her…

Wait. What was Ruby doing out here anyway? Tai take her on a field trip? Summer heard thunder and looked up. She stopped in her tracks. Not only did she see massive thunderheads rolling toward her, the sky was completely white. Besides the storm, there were no clouds? Why was the sky white?

Summer shook her head and kept running. Another voice joined Ruby's crying. _"Daddy! Daddy!"_ Yang's voice echoed. _"Something's wrong with Ruby!"_ Summer stopped again and put her hands on the side of her head. Why did Yang's voice come from everywhere…Why did Ruby's crying come from everywhere?

Then Summer saw double. She was both standing in the forest and staring up at the ceiling in Ruby's and Yang's room. Her view shook from side to side while her head didn't move. _"Ruby,"_ Yang's voice soothed. Summer's second sight stopped on her oldest. _"Ruby, what's wrong?"_ Summer's view shook again, but the cries only got worse.

 _What's going on?_ Summer thought. _It's like I'm…in…Ruby's…head…_ Summer's legs gave out from under her. She covered her mouth with both hands and didn't even try to hold back the waterfalls streaming from her eyes. She was the Winter Maiden. When she died, whoever was last in her thoughts became the new Winter Maiden. Ruby fit all the criteria.

Summer was dead. She was in her baby girl's head. Ruby was the new Winter Maiden. Ruby had a target the size of Amity Colosseum on the back of her head.

"No…No. No, no, no, no, no…" Summer burst off the ground and ran to the house. The rain started and the wind howled. It's not like it mattered. She was already dead. The house appeared through the trees. Summer prepared to body slam the door, but she just passed right through it. She tested her weight on the stairs, and found that those were actually there. She took the steps a few at a time and ran through the open door.

Tai was standing in the center of the room, holding Ruby in his arms. Ruby was still crying her eyes out, and it hadn't gotten any better since Summer realized what was going on. For the first time since then, Summer paid attention to what her second vision showed her. The door was open, but Summer wasn't standing in the doorway.

This time, Summer tried to hold back her tears. She walked toward her baby girl. Tai was trying to sooth Ruby as well, but nothing he said calmed Ruby down. As Summer stood behind Tai, she tried to put a hand on his free shoulder. Her hand just passed right through him. Still, Summer wanted to hold her baby girl. She tried to caress Ruby's cheek, and actually felt her baby girl. Ruby's crying diminished, but didn't come close to stopping.

 _Can she…_ Summer leaned forward and kissed Ruby's forehead. Her baby girl's crying quieted even more. "I'm here, Ruby. I'm here. I'll always be here. I'll always be with you. I love you so much. Never forget that. Mommy loves you." Summer kissed her Gem between each sentence, and added a few more on the end for good measure. She sung one of Ruby's favorite lullaby's while she rubbed her baby girl's back. Summer's second vision faded to black as Ruby closed her eyes.

Unlike what Summer expected, Tai and Yang still stood in the room. Tai laid Ruby on her bed and tucked her in. Yang hugged Ruby, then climbed into her own bed on the other side of the room. Tai walked toward the door.

Summer looked at her hand, then the hall outside her girls' room. She needed to let him know. _Take from me, not Ruby. Take from me, not Ruby._ She stuck her hand toward the hall and concentrated on the emblem on her hip. The same one formed as frost on the wall. It took way more energy and concentration than she expected. The question was if it actually happened in the house.

Tai stared at the emblem, then looked down both sides of the hall. "Summer? You're home. He closed the door behind him.

Summer ran through the door and wiped her emblem off the wall. That somehow worked. She used a finger to write out 'RUBY.'

"What?" Tai looked around again. "Summer, where are you?"

Summer wrote 'MAIDEN! PROTECT!' under 'RUBY.'

Tai's eyes widened. "Summer, this isn't funny anymore. Where are you?"

Summer wiped what she wrote off the wall and fought back tears again. Then she wrote, 'I LOVE YOU ALL. GOODBYE.' She backed away from the wall and collapsed against her girls' door. That took way too much out of her. Hopefully it was from her and not Ruby.

Tai backed away from the wall as well. He ran down the stairs and pulled out his Scroll. A few seconds later, Summer heard Tai yell, "Qrow, where's Summer?...What do you mean Fort Castle? What the hell's going on?"

Summer couldn't bear to listen any longer. She pushed herself into her girls' room and stumbled to Ruby's bed. Ruby wasn't sleeping well. Her eyes ran laps under her eyelids and her lips trembled. Summer caressed Ruby's face again. "Sleep, Gem. You're safe. Everyone here loves you." Ruby stilled and a small smile formed on her sleeping face.

Since Ruby was the only one who knew Summer was there, she crawled into be next to her baby girl. She tried to pull the covers up, but fazed right through them too. Summer raised her arms and slammed them down. What were the rules here? She could be on the bed, but not under the covers? Summer shook her head and tried to hold her baby girl close. She was part of Ruby now, but she was still her mom. She needed to care for her as such.

* * *

Raven gripped the stick in front of her and fought back the tears in her eyes. They had to be lying. There's no way Summer could be dead. She was too strong. Screw that. She started pushing all the levers in her stolen Bullhead. One of them increased the speed, which is exactly what she wanted. She looked at the radar, trying to see if the transport carrying the 'witch' was anywhere in sight.

A blip appeared on the screen. Raven pushed the stick in that direction and increased the speed again. There's no way these sons of bitches could kill the Winter Maiden, especially _not_ Summer. She had to be unconscious, or she was faking it. As soon as Raven got there, Summer would spring up and take all those bastards out. Yeah, that was it.

The blip on the radar approached closer to the center. In fact, it was almost right on top of it. Earlier, Raven found a switch that controlled all lights on the Bullhead. She flicked that off and stared out the windshield. As far as she could tell, there was nothing there. Why were these things painted…wait, the stars were fading in and out. That had to be it. The longer she stared, the outline of a Bullhead became more defined.

Raven stood up and drew her sword. She was moving at the same speed of that Bullhead, and she was at the same height. She had one shot at this, and she had to make it count. She swung her sword and a portal opened. She didn't see the other side, so that was a good sign.

She jumped through and immediately smashed one guy into the cockpit bulkhead. Someone yelped beside her and Raven punched the guy's teeth out. Her portal closed and there was no one else in the crew compartment.

"We've been boarded!" Someone from the cockpit yelled. "It's the-" Raven slammed her sword's hilt into the back of the pilot's head. The guy fell onto the stick and the Bullhead nosedived. Raven threw a left hook at the copilot's head and knocked him out as well. She pulled the pilot and the stick back to level out the Bullhead.

Something hit the floor in the crew compartment. Raven stiffened and prepped for another attack, but none came. She turned around and searched the space. Two Nevermore bastards lay unconscious on the floor. A red and white tarp…

No. It wasn't a tarp. It was Summer's cloak. Raven brought a hand up to cover her mouth. The dam behind her eyes burst. "Please don't be as bad as it looks." Raven knelt down at her partner's side and flipped her over. Her breath hitched. It was much _worse_ than she thought. There was no doubt about it now.

Summer Rose was dead.

" _Roc, come in,"_ the radio in the cockpit chirped. _"Roc, who boarded you?"_

Raven stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She walked to the cockpit and took the pilot out of his chair and set him on the floor. She sat in the chair and strapped herself in. Patch was a few hours' flight away. She turned the Bullhead in that direction and increased the speed. The sooner Summer got back home, the better.

" _I say again, Roc, who boarded you?"_

Raven picked up the radio and pressed the button on the side. "The one you call Geist. You killed Summer Rose, and that's a big problem. You see, I owed her a debt that I could never repay. That now carries to her children." Raven squeezed the radio as she tried to keep her voice calm and level. "If anyone associated with the Nevermores so much as looks at Ruby Rose or Yang Xiao Long, I won't stop hunting you. You already had the police and Huntsmen of the world looking for you thanks to Summer, but now you have Ozpin and the other headmasters to worry about too. You'll be lucky if they find you first."

Raven finally let her rage leak into her voice. "If any of you so much as scratch those two girls, I will hunt every last one of you to the ends of Remnant. I don't care if you're at the bottom of the fucking ocean. I will find a way to you and drown you all. There won't be a safe space anywhere for you. Not the wilds, not the lost kingdom, not your mothers' basements. You're all marked men. But don't do anything stupid, we won't have a problem in the future. Geist out." Raven slammed the radio back into its place. She would have crushed it, but she needed to listen in to anything else the Nevermores said.

Raven leaned back in her seat and the tears ran freely again. The others needed to know. She drew her Scroll from a pocket and punched in Qrow's number. Unsurprisingly, he picked up at the first ring. _"Please have some good news."_

"I wish…Summer's…" Raven's throat constricted. She couldn't say it. "Summer's…gone. They killed her."

Qrow stayed silent for a while, then sighed. _"We figured. Weird frost has been forming around here. It looks like Ruby is the new Winter Maiden."_

Raven let out a laugh. "That sounds about right. Summer would think of her baby girl last."

Qrow sighed. _"I suppose I should break the news to Tai."_

"I'm on my way in one of their Bullheads. I don't know how to land, so I'm going to have to ditch this somewhere."

" _Well…see you when you get here."_ The line clicked and went dead.

Raven carefully set her scroll on the dash, then screamed. "It should have been me!" She stood up and punched the bulkhead at the back of the cockpit. She repeated the same line over and over, punching the wall with each repetition. The metal dented inward. Raven threw one more punch and her fist plunged right through. Her legs gave out and her arm hung in the new hole. "It's my fault...I should have been there. I should have used my portals. I should have helped you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." The water from her eyes splashed onto the floor. Qrow was probably doing something similar on his end.

She wiped the tears from her face with her free arm and tore her right arm out of the hole in the wall. Summer wouldn't want to see her like this. Raven looked around the cockpit and the crew cabin for a first aid kit. It wouldn't bring Summer back, but it would help clean her up. If Tai let Ruby or Yang see her like this before whatever he was going to do, Raven was going to do her best to make it so those two would see their mom as she really was, not what those monsters did to her.

* * *

 **Rest in Peace, Summer Rose. You will be remembered...and I hope we find out what happened to you in canon sometime soon.**


	13. Through Another's Eyes

**Question: Why does everyone who knows about Qrow and Raven turning into birds (in canon) think its a bad thing? I would have thought Ruby and Nora would want to see for themselves and geek out about it. Come on, it's _awesome!_ Not scary...Unless there's another legend we don't know about.  
**

 **Anyway, time to finish up Summer's story.**

* * *

Summer sat on the couch in the living room, or at least the representation of it in Ruby's head. Both her girls sat next to her, though they couldn't see her…and never would again. They had no idea what was going on. They couldn't. Tai just called them down here. No doubt about it, this would be the worst day so far in either of their lives.

Tai and Qrow walked out of the kitchen. It looked like Tai was trying to put up a brave face, but Summer saw the tear stains on his cheeks through Ruby's eyes. As always, Qrow had a bottle of…wait, that wasn't orange pop. "Qrow, don't you _dare_ drink in front of my girls. Look what it did to me! Don't be me!" Of course, Qrow didn't hear her. He popped the top off the beer bottle and took a swig.

"Girls, we need to talk." Tai sat in the chair opposite the sisters. Qrow remained standing and leaned against the wall.

Ruby and Yang looked at each other, then back to their dad. "What's going on, daddy."

Summer saw Tai's throat constrict and his eyes turn glassy. He was really trying to not break down. "Your mom…isn't going to be…coming home."

Ruby cocked her head. "Long mission?" She sounded so disappointed.

Summer _felt_ it too. She hooked an arm around her girl's shoulders. "I'm here, Ruby."

Tai shook his head. "She's…gone to live with her mom."

Yang gasped. Summer looked at her oldest. Yang had a hand covering her mouth and her own eyes were leaking. She knew. Summer walked around Ruby and she tried to hug Yang, but she just fazed right through her. "Phoenix, I'm sorry. I love you so much. I'm right here. I'm not leaving."

"Grandma?" Ruby asked, once again sounding happy. "Can we go too?"

Qrow shook his head. "She lives too farr away. We can't make the trip ourrselfs. Costs too much."

Summer's jaw dropped. "You're drunk already?" She jumped off the couch and marched toward Qrow. She slapped the bottle out of Qrow's hand, or at least tried to. "Don't be me!" She tried to slap Qrow in the face, but her arms might as well have passed through air. She stared at her hands, then tried slapping Qrow over and over, her own cheeks getting drenched and screaming the whole time. She fell against the wall and buried her face in her arms. This was too much.

"Why can't we see grandma?" Ruby asked. Summer looked up at her youngest. She didn't understand what was going on. Summer could feel it.

"Because we can't!" Yang cried. She jumped off the couch and ran upstairs.

Summer just watched her oldest disappear behind the corner. She couldn't do anything. Nothing she'd say would make it to Yang. Nothing ever would again. Only Tai, Qrow and Raven could get to her now…speaking of Raven, where was she? She'd be coming in later, right? The Nevermores might not be gone, but their threat wasn't as great, right?

* * *

Yang was acting weird. Normally she was a chatterbox. She never got back to her normal level after she learned that Summer died, but that was half a year ago. The past two days, she avoided most conversation and tried to stay away from Ruby. Summer couldn't help but wonder what was going on with Yang. She…she didn't like someone at preschool, did she? Nah. She was too young for that.

So when Yang walked up to Ruby in the living room, Summer didn't know what was going on. "Ruby," Yang started, "you want to go on a walk with me?"

Ruby yawned. "Not now. I'm tirrred."

"But I don't want to go alone." Yang's shoulders slumped, then she straightened up and her eyes brightened. "I can pull you in the wagon." Summer giggled. Ruby wouldn't be able to say no to that. She loved it too much.

"Okay." Ruby jumped off the couch and followed Yang out the door. Summer 'walked' behind them. She found out early on that she could just 'fly' after Ruby, but just walking felt natural. She couldn't get used to the 'flying.'

They entered the shed where the wagon was kept. Yang looked at the motorcycle that had rested unused since Summer left. She ran a hand over the side. Summer saw the tears in Yang's eyes but they disappeared just as quickly. "Come on, Ruby." Yang pulled the little red wagon from there it rested.

Ruby climbed in and curled up in the wagon. "I'm gonna take a nap." She closed her eyes. Both Ruby and Yang faded from Summer's sight, and she sighed. She could only 'move around' through the first week in Ruby's head. Now when Ruby closed her eyes, it was just Summer on Patch, alone. She could still hear what Ruby did, and saw her dreams, but as for what was really going on, Summer didn't know. At the moment, Summer just heard the wagon rolling over the ground.

Summer sighed and walked around herself. She didn't have much to do. Sometimes she would sing to Ruby, and sometimes Ruby would start humming that tune. But that wouldn't make sense if Ruby was trying to take a nap. Instead, she just wandered where she thought her girls were going. Just a loop around the house. They knew not to leave the clearing around the yard. Ruby was a stickler for the rules, and Yang knew which ones couldn't be broken.

After a while, Summer heard growling around her. At first she didn't know if it was from only one direction or not. She hadn't gotten the sleeping directions right quite yet. Then she heard Yang whimper, and that gave a little perspective. Ruby and Yang were surrounded.

Then Yang screamed. Ruby's eyes snapped open and she sat up in the wagon. Summer made herself stand where her girls were. They weren't anywhere near the house. She had to use Ruby's eyes to get a number and position, but they stayed in Summer's own sight afterward. She counted eight grown Beowolves. Summer could take them in her sleep, but she wasn't there. No Huntsman was.

"Oh no." Summer looked to her girls then back at the Grimm. She lifted her hands into her line of sight. Could she use Ruby to fight them off? Would that be right? She suddenly realized why Ozpin wanted to keep Amber in the dark about what she was.

She heard a weapon unfurling, one of the most beautiful sounds she heard. Qrow jumped over Ruby's head and slashed at a Grimm that was lunging at Yang. The two halves of the Beowolf fell to the side. After that, Ruby's untrained eyes couldn't follow him. A few seconds later, all Beowolves were dissolving and Qrow stood in front of the girls with his back facing them. Summer could feel Ruby's heart pounding and fast breathing.

Qrow hung his sword on his back and turned around. "Yang, what are you doing out here?" He knelt down in front of her. "You know you're not supposed to be away from the house without me or your dad. And with Ruby too?"

"I…I'm sorry." Yang cried. "I…I had to know."

"You had to know what?"

"The fourth person in the picture." Summer lifted a hand to her mouth. Yang knew about Raven.

Qrow's eyes widened, then looked to the sky. "You're going to need to have a long talk with your dad, and you're going to have to apologize to your little sister."

Yang turned her watery eyes to her sister. "I'm sorry, Ruby."

Ruby didn't answer, and Summer knew why. She wasn't quite in shock, but she was terrified. Summer knelt next to her youngest and kissed Ruby's cheek. "It's okay, Gem. You're safe. Uncle Qrow will keep the monsters away."

Ruby blinked a few times and finally looked at her sister. "I…forgive you Yang." Ruby moved in for a hug and Yang eagerly returned it.

Summer nodded and looked around the clearing. Qrow got to all Grimm before they got close. If he was following those two from the beginning, they were never in any real danger.

Then Summer saw a bird sitting in the trees. A very familiar bird. She narrowed her eyes and grimaced. "Raven, get your feathered butt down here." She marched toward the tree even though Raven couldn't hope to see her. "You get down there right now! Take care of your daughter!" She pointed at the wagon. "Take care of _my_ daughter. Don't you _dare_ let them grow up without a mom. You're better than that! You wanted to come back! Why haven't you?"

Raven took flight from her branch and flew away from those in the small clearing. Summer let her head and shoulders fall and hugged herself. She turned back to where Qrow was pulling both girls in the wagon. Ruby and Yang cuddled up next to each other, but Summer couldn't be happy. She could only somewhat be there for Ruby. If Yang was in trouble, like she was now, she couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

Summer bit her lip as she stared off the cliff on Patch. What happened last night…so many things went right, yet so many went wrong. That wasn't Amber in that Bullhead. The things that were done with all that fire could only come from a Maiden…No. No one would kill her little Amby. Amber wouldn't be so little anymore, but still. Then again, if she was working with whoever that orange haired guy was, they could have wanted the extra firepower…pun not intended given the situation.

At the same time, Summer couldn't be more proud of how well Ruby fought. She still had a long way to go, but she took out quite a few guys on her own. She wasn't even touched by any of those guys. Those goons weren't the most skilled in the world, but they were still more dangerous than individual Grimm. Summer couldn't help but squeal and try to hug her daughter for such a good job.

Then Ozpin came in and enrolled Ruby at Beacon. Um, WHAT? That didn't happen! Ruby was the first fifteen-year-old to go to Beacon in the school's history! Of course Summer thought Ruby was ready. She'd seen her little girl train with Qrow, Yang, Tai, and all her friends at Signal. Ruby was definitely at Yang's level, maybe even better.

Even so, Summer didn't know Ozpin's motives. He hat to have seen Ruby's skill, or he wouldn't have even thought of it. But Ruby was the Winter Maiden. The Nevermores hadn't come after her, nor had Summer seen them in the news, but other people may be looking for the Winter Maiden. Ruby was much safer at Beacon than on Patch.

Overall, Summer thought that last night was an positive for Ruby.

Speaking of her youngest, Summer's 'Ruby Vision' showed her youngest running toward her position. She smiled and sat where her gravestone was in real life. At times like this, she couldn't help but wonder if Tai buried her as is or cremated her. Either way, she was pretty sure she was buried there, but she wasn't certain. Tai said no, but Summer thought he was lying.

In both her own eyes and her 'Ruby Vision,' Ruby ran out of the trees. Ruby stopped right in front of Summer's gravestone and bounced on her heels. "Hi mom! Oh man! Where do I start?" Ruby ran her hands through her hair. "I was at a Dust shop in Vale, and these bad guys came in. One of them tried to rob me, but I kicked him out the window."

"You better hope the place has insurance," Summer laughed, "or else you're paying for that."

"I took out all that guy's buddies outside. Then their leader shot at me, but he couldn't get a solid hit…Well, a Huntress did save me from one of his blasts. Oh! I fought alongside a real Huntress! I mean I do that already with dad and Uncle Qrow, but that doesn't count. Then this fire user came in and helped the guys get away in a Bullhead…" Ruby lost some energy on that last line and her shoulders slumped. "Yeah that wasn't the best.

"Then I ended up at the police station and the Huntress yelled at me. I don't really know why. I did what any Huntress would do." Ruby's new smile threatened to break off her face. "Then Professor Ozpin came in and asked if I wanted to go to Beacon! I thought he meant in a few years. But guess what? He said _now!_ I'm going to Beacon, mom!" Ruby jumped around and squealed.

She sobered up and smiled down at Summer's grave stone, not so coincidentally meeting her mom's eyes. "I wish you were here to see this."

"I am, Gem." She reached a hand out and held Ruby's cheek. "I am so proud of you, Ruby. Go there and kick butt for me." Ruby pulled her head away and rubbed the cheek that Summer touched. Summer snatched her hand back. "Did you feel that?" If that did happen, that would be the first time in years.

Ruby shook her head. "I'd stay longer, but the ship for Beacon leaves tomorrow, and…I've got to pack!" She jumped once more. "I love you, mom! I'll be back when I can!"

Summer smiled as her baby girl ran off. "You'll do great things, Ruby. I just know it."

* * *

 **Well, this is the end of Nevermore. Back to RWBAY and everyone else next week. See you there.**


	14. AN Flash Forward

**Thank you to all of you who followed me over from Reversal, but now it's time to get back to RWBAY and their dragons in Act III. It's out now, under the name of Reconstruction. See you there. It looks like it's already available to be searched as well (that was fast).**


End file.
